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LIBRARY OF MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

WOODS HOLE, MASS.

Loaned by American Museum of Natural History

RECREATION * VOL II APRIL, 1909 No. l 4* EDUCATION

EXPLANATORY NOTE :— Thii number is published from a temporary office at 47 Willow Street. Stamford, Con-
necticut, and mailed at the Stamford Post Office as before. This is due to delay in the erection of the Sound
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BEGINNING WITH THIS NUMBER

A 5

" THE MINERAL COLLECTOR "

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THE GUIDE TO NATURE

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tion of other aquarists will be cordially welcomed. See page 16.

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Spraying Under the Leaves.

water or any other liquid insecticide
or clear water by the misty spray
ejected from the sprayer, it is unlike
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is clumsy and unhandy for amatuer
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nature intended for them. The spray
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since the price is rather low for a
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Dr. Robert T. Morris.

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THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

APRIL, 1909

No. 1

%i&^

ITtS OUTDOOR. WoRLD

IffflM

mwt{m\usi?Sii\\\

\\uMM

SiiT>fl

tKW<

A Visit to a Western Ranch

BY EARL DOUGLASS, PITTSBURG, PA.

OR months we had been
living in a stone cabin in
a land of sage-brush, cac-
tus, and prairie-dogs. We
had long wished to explore
the more broken country to
the eastward, and, at last,
we found the opportunity. Though
we started in good season in the
morning, before we reached the high
hills the sun was pouring its heat on
the sandy waste which reflected it
back with added intensity.

We stopped to eat our lunch at a
"wash," or ravine, cut deep into a red
sandy flat. Here the sage-brush and
other shrubs were more rank, and a
little pool furnished a drink for the
thirsty horses.

Soon after lunch we reached the
eastern border of the LTinta Basin,
where the rocks form a ridge several
miles in width. They slope steeply
to the westward, so, as we travelled
to the eastward, we came to older and

older formations. The first beds were
fine light green slate-like rocks many
hundreds of feet in thickness composed
of many hundreds of thousands of thin
layers. In these, a few miles away,
we had found hosts of insects, such
as ants, moscpiitoes, bugs, beetles, etc.,
that had fallen into the water and had
been buried in the mud ages ago. But
as Kipling says, 'That is another
story." Then we passed a formation
that in Wyoming and New Mexico
had yielded bones of little horses not
bigger than a fox, small animals very
distantly related to the tapirs and
rhinoceroses and many beasts more
strange than those of fairy tales. Next
we came to a bed where ancient forests
had decayed and left layers of coal
and impressions of leaves in the rocks.
At last we descended a steep slope
into a large valley, which, by the
action of the running water, had been
carved out of the shales which had
been formed from mud that had ac-

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

SPRINGY PLACES FULL OF CAT-TAILS AXD WATER-CRESS.

cumulated to a great thickness in an
old Cretaceous sea. The basin was
surrounded on three sides by bluffs of
clay and shale, and its bottom was so
furrowed by water from rains and
melting snow that it had been difficult
to find a wagon-way through it. It
was still very hot and the scene was
almost as desolate as that of a desert.

About the only signs of animal life
that we noticed were conical mounds
of sand surrounded by circular patches
kept clear of vegetation. These were
the dwelling places of the agricultural
ants, one of the few kinds of insects
whose interesting lives, habits, and in-
genuous dwelling-places have been
studied and described.

At last we saw an oil-derrick, some
cabins, and oil-tanks. This we found
was the partially explored oil-region
of which we had heard. In every
fresh exposure of the shales that we
examined we had found impressions
of scales and bones of fishes. This,
perhaps, had originated the theory that
the oil came from the fishes that had
lived in the sea.

After traveling several weary miles,
we saw, to the southward, green trees
peeping from behind barren hills; and
then we came to the White River
fiat. We entered a gate through a
barbed-wire fence and were on a ranch,
the first we had seen for weeks. We

soon found that we were in a pasture
for a man was driving the cows home
to be milked.

In this pasture, above the irrigating
ditch, the sage-brush grew more rank
than on the higher land and the grease-
wood gave a greener tint to the land-
scape ; but when we came to the ditch
the scene was suddenly transformed.
It was only a step from comparative
desolation to a paradise of vegetable
luxuriance. The ditch was almost
hidden among green willows, grasses,
wild sunflowers, and numerous other
plants.

On the west side of the road was a
field of oats that had just been har-
vested and shocked. In a more dis-
tant field we could see and hear a
harvesting-machine cutting the grain.
On the east side of the lane was a field
of wheat, and beyond that was a pretty
farm-house, half hidden in a cottpn-
wood grove. Between the field of
wheat and the grove was a garden and
an orchard. In the garden were beets,
carrots, onions, beans pumpkins, mel-
ons and other vegetables. In front of
the large brick barn were wagons and
farm machinery, and on the south side
was the barnyard where the cows were
standing: chewing their cuds and wait-
ing to be milked.

All the sights, sounds, and odors
brought to my mind as by magic,

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

THE SUN WAS SHINING THROUGH THE GROVE

STOOD

IN WHICH THE FARMHOUSE

scenes of former days, and prolonged
absence from such scenes in a large
city and in an arid treeless wilderness,
redoubled the interest and pleasure
which I felt, and I was seized with
an irresistible desire to get pictures of
nearly everything that 1 saw. 1 often
pity those who have not spent a part
of childhood's days on a farm, for it
seems that they have lost something
that they can never get anywhere else
or at any other time. It is one of our
natural rights to spend part of our
time with Nature, the oldest, yet the
best and most up-to-date teacher. I
know by experience that there is much
hard drudgery on a farm, but I believe
that one is full}' paid for it in later
years, no matter what profession he
may follow. The happy hours that I
spent on this western ranch, paid me

for man}- days of hard labor in former
years.

We stopped at the barn and inquired
of the good-natured foreman of the
ranch, where we could find a good
camping-place. We were told that the
best place was just across the river.
We then drove through an avenue of
tall shade-trees in front of the enclos-
ure in which stood the fine cottage
which was occupied by the owner of
the ranch. Between the house and the
river was an open spot, part of which
was low and wet. Here cat-tails and
watercress grew in abundance. I
jumped out of the wagon and pulled
up a large bunch of the latter which
furnished a fine relish for our evening
meal by the camp-fire.

When crossing the ford we stopped
in the middle of the stream to let the

ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE RIVER THE BLOOMING CLEMATIS SEEMED TO

FORM A FAIRY BOWER INDEED

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

horses drink. The sun was shining
through the grove in which the farm-
house stood, and it made a trembling
streak of light in the broad, rippling
band of shadows, the reflection of the
grove in the running waters. The few
clouds in the western sky, and the
nearer trees were fringed by the light
of the setting sun. ''What a picture
it would make!" I thought, so I took

BY THE DITCH THE WILD SUNFLOWER

AND THE PLUME GRASS GREW

HIGHER THAN MY HEAD.

three snap-shots, all of which were
good.

Our camping-place was on a green
grassy plot of ground between the
river and a little strip of tangled thicket
of brush, vines and trees. We hob-
bled our horses, turned them loose and
prepared our evening meal by a camp-
fire of dry willows. The trees and
shrubs near our camp were draped in
clematis, or virgin bower, and across

the river this plant formed a fairy
bower indeed.

I resolved that I would not leave this
place without making an excursion
over the more attractive part of the
ranch and taking pictures of what
pleased my fancy ; so, in the morning,.
with in)- camera, I recrossed the river.
Air. Rector, the owner of the ranch,
w as not at home ; but his intelligent
wife and her bright little children were
there. Airs. Rector welcomed me in
the free, hospitable spirit of the West,
and, from her, I learned many interest-
ing" things about the country. The
house and its surroundings were beau-
tiful. There was not another such a
dwelling for scores of miles. In the
garden all kinds of vegetables seemed
to thrive. When we were there the
corn was in tassel and the pumpkins
anel melons were still in bloom. I
started for a walk over a part of the'
ranch. By the irrigating ditch, the
wild sunflower and the grasses grew
higher than my head, forming a minia-
ture jungle. Between the ditch and
the river were many green, grassy
glades hidden among dense thickets
of willows. I wondered what insects
lived in the thickets and visited the
flowers and what birds lived and nest-
ed here. A little farther up the river
were long, crooked lakes, or bayous,
the former courses of the river. In
some portions of these, there was open
water, while, in other portions, were
dense growths of rank vegetation such
as cat-tails, grasses, the giant bulrush,
and other sedges. These reedy places
swarmed with blackbirds. As I ap-
proached, I could hear them puddling
in the water and the}- flew out in ones
twos and scattered groups like bees
from a hive. They sometimes collected
in thousands and it made me think of
boyhood scenes in Minnesota when
they used to fly by in large flocks
neither end of which could be seen for
a long time. This was an ideal nesting
place for blackbirds and waterfowls.
T wished to know what beautiful and
strange forms of minute life existed
in these reedy bayous but I had not a
microscope with me or time to investi-
gate.

Tn one place, a crescent-shaped

THE OUTDOOR WORL

THESE WERE LONG, CROOKED LAKES OR BAYOUS

bayou, an abandoned channel of the
river, was open for a long distance,
and both sides were thickly fringed
with shrubs and other vegetation. I
saw that there were wild ducks in the
pond and this aroused my instinct for
hunting. I had not a gun but some-
thing better. I crept along the border
of the new mown field close to the
thick fringe of willows, grasses and
weeds. I made my way not without
some noise, through the dense thicket
to the edge of the pond, and saw the
ducks quietly reposing on the mud of
the farther end, or swimming about on
the water. I snapped at them several
times with my camera, once when a
couple were flying toward me. After

others arose, I got a picture of them
on the wing.

1 next went to a field where a man
was cutting grain, and took several
pictures. I spent a few short hours
here and saw many interesting things,
but one might stay a life time study-
ing and photographing the plants and
animals and then make only a begin-
ning. We sometimes think we would
like to go to Africa and study the wild
beasts there but in these tangled thickets
of weeds, shrubs and flowers are
animals far less known than the large
beasts of Africa. The insects with
most interesting and varied habits are
little known and nobody knows any-
thing of the microscopic life, the beau-

WILD DFCKS ON THE WING

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

tiful little plants and animals that live
in the bayous. Here main- interesting
plants grow and birds build their nests,
lay their beautiful eggs, the sight of
which so thrills the heart of a boy, yes,
and we never get over it. Then in the
barren rocks that surround the valley
are remains of animals and plants that
lived in the ages that are gone. Doubt-
less many of them never yet seen by
man.

Soon after noon, we started down
White River for the. strange beasts of
the past, the remains of which we had
been collecting seemed calling me from
the desert and we returned to our
work with renewed interest.

The Personality of Flowers

BY WILLIAM WHITMAN BAILEY, LL. D.
BROWN UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE, R. L

That to flowers we attribute certain
human characteristics is a fact as old,
probably, as observation itself. Thus
we speak of the pompous and aristo-
cratic tulip, the stately lily, the tremb-
ling, shy anemone, the coy violet, the
modest rose. Even trees come in for
this featural description, as the robust
oak, the tough, and subtle hickory, the
weeping willow, the aspiring pine and
the clinging ivy.

Some of these attributes have become
fixed in our literature and are the gen-
eral property of all writers. Others
have a more personal character and are
applied by the particular essayist or
poet. By his use of terms we guess
something of his own nature.

To the writer of this article, the
terms laughing and frolicksome have
ever seemed to belong of right and
unchallenged to the liverwort or hepat-
ica. As these blue eyed flowers revel
down a hillside, they appear to be
engaged in a wild but innocent romp
now hiding behind rocks, now peeping
out from a cover of brown leaves or
gaily whispering in some sunny corner.
It is no use saying they are uncon-
scious; their every glance shows that
they are enjoying a holiday. For this
were they created.

Never, for a moment, does hepatica
claim to be other than it is to assume
a livery other than its own, or to feign

a sobriety it does not feel. If there be
a genuine flower it is this. As inno-
cent as lily of the valley, it is somehow
more lovable, more loving. One is
quite sure that it reciprocates his affec-
tion.

The bloodroot, which is equally com-
mon, robed in pure white as it is, is
involved in mystery What is the
tragedy that attends it? Why this
ensanguined root which it tries in vain
to conceal? Must its dread secret al-
ways remain unknown?

That quaker ladies or bluets have a
strong personality every one must
have observed. Note first their gre-
gariousness, how they at first gather
in little chatty groups and then,
as at a given signal, all run into a vast
throng. It is as if they had caucuses
and primary meetings and then a gen-
eral convention where, let us hope, thev
do not quarrel.

According to one's mood, skunk cab-
bages appear either as solemn, hooded
monks or as uncanny kobolds or gob-
lins dire. Their robes are too rich for
actual hermits. Jack-in-the-pulpit is,
of course, an accepted priest. Observe
his tonsured poll. I have fancies some-
times that I could even follow his ser-
mon and profit thereby.

Even botanists, who are by no means
all poets, though old Linnaeus and
others have had a lively fancy, have
conceded to the pond lilv a mystic
origin. Is our common one not, in
older manuals at least, known as Nym-
phaea? Do we not all feel jarred to
have that name transferred to the
coarse and evil-smelling spatter-dock?
It was an accident, some say, that be-
stowed the name Euryale, "queen of
the furies" on the superb water lily of
the Amazons, and a fortunate chance
which transfers it to Victoria, "our late
most gracious queen and lady."

Tt was not their gorgeous scarlet
alone, surely, which suggested the
name of cardinal flower to our splendid
American lobelia. It always wears the
stately pose of a prince of the church.
When a number are together, we feel
that they are concerned in an impor-
tant conclave and that whatever they
vote or for whomsoever their function.
is heaven-directed. There can be no

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

chance of mistake with such sober, erect,
thoughtful persons.

J have no desire to extend my thought
to tenuity although the subject is al-
luring. Those who have flowers and
know them will recall many that pos-
sess marked human features. To feel
this is to add a joy to a spring or sum-
mer walk, where all the companions
of a lifetime come again to welcome
us.

Prehistoric Mud Pies.

BY MILO LEON NORTON, BRISTOL, CONN.

Many misguided people, including
some geographers, persist in calling
the Tunxis, Farmington river, whereas
it was named by the Indians, hundreds
of years before a white man ever saw
it, "Tunxis Sepus. or the Little river,
in contradistinction to the Great river,
or the Connecticut. By this name it
is known in the early records. By all
means let the rivers, lakes and moun-
tains bear, as much as possible, the
names of the original proprietors, the
red men. Poetic justice demands it.
These natural objects so intimately
associated with the aborigines should
be their monuments, and perpetuate
their memory, especially when named
by the Indians themselves. It would
be just as appropriate to call the Con-
necticut, Hartford river, as to name the
Tunxis for a single town of the many
that it traverses.

About two miles above Old Point
Comfort, at the mouth of the Tunxis,
in the Historic old town of Windsor,

CURIOUS FORMS OP "MUD PIES.'

EASILY IMAGINED TO BE UNIQUE
"HARDWARE"

where the first house in Connecticut
was built in 1633, upon the north bank
of the Tunxis, accessible by canoe or
motorboat, is a large, sloping clay-
bank, rising from the water's edge to a
considerable height. It is bare of vege-
tation as it is subject to continual
wearing away by the current of the
river, this displacement causing the
gradual subsidence of the entire hill-
side, and bringing to light many thou-
sand curious pebbles, generally known
as clay-stones, but technically known
to brick-makers as "clay-dogs," and
as much appreciated by them as daisies
are by the average farmer. If preva-
lent they render the clay unfit for
brick-making purposes.

At first sight they have the appear-
ance of being water-worn, like the peb-
bles in streams or on the sea-shore,
but their fantastic shapes, and the fact
that many of them are clusters, ce-
mented together, render some other
explanation of their origin necessary.
Scientists tell us that they are concre-
tions, and that they consist of particles
of clay and sand cemented together by-
carbonate of lime. The lime was origi-
nally deposited with the clay _ in the
shape of minute particles, which, by
being acted upon by the carbon dioxide
in the water, were dissolved and carried
along through the most porous layers
of the clay formation, till they became
supersaturated, when precipitation
took place, and the minerals in solu-
tion were attracted together by the
same law that attracts particles of dust

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

together on the sidewalk, forming
branching ferns and palm-like designs ;
or, the fantastic crystalization of frost
rime upon the window pane. The nor-
mal shape of these concretions is glob-
ular, but owing to variations in the
thickness of the layers in which they
are deposited, and the direction from
which the lime is supplied, many modi-
fications result. The regularity and
accuracy of some of the worms are as-
tonishing. Some of the stones are as
accurately turned, beaded and grooved,
as could be done in a lathe. They vary
in size from a half inch to three inches
in diameter, most of them not exceed-
ing two inches. They are of a general-
ly uniform clay color, quite hard, and
well preserved. The fact that some
present a fresher appearance than others
is accounted for by the supposition that
they are still forming.

While other clay banks have their
specimens of these curious freaks, it
is in this bank that they are found in
the greatest variety and profusion.
While the scientific explanation of
their origin is undoubtedly correct, I
have another theory much more satis-
factory from a poetic standpoint, which
I have embodied in the following lines:

Early in the planet's morning.
Nymps there were without adorning
Save their purity and tresses,

Needed they no other dresses.

Playful sprites, these naiad daughters,

Sporting in the fluvial waters,

Plunging in the flood before them,

Splashing crystal waters o'er them.

Then upon the bank reclining,

Where the sun was brightly shining,

Fashioned they with merry laughter,

Dreaming not what might come after,

Curious, weird and strange devices;

Nor have winter's snows and ices,

Nor the Frost King's fancy sketching,

O'er the northern window stretching,

E'er produced shapes more fantastic

Than these nymphs did from the plastic

Clay-mud of the river's silting —

Prototypes of crazy-quilting.

Circles, ovals, clustered, single,

Rounded like the sea-washed shingle;

Squatty idols, Asiatic,

Fit for Hindu priests fanatic;

Reptiles, fowls and curious creatures;

Monkeys with distorted features;

Watches, charms and pretty lockets,

Maids might wear in dainty pockets;

Dangles, bracelets, buttons funny;

Medals and unminted money;

And ten thousand shapes, defying

All attempts at classifying.

Then these nymphs, their play forsaking,

Left them in the sunshine baking,

while they drifted down stream singing,

Joy unto waste places bringing.

Then the floods came, and the waters

Southward bore these guileless daughters.

The forsaken mud-pies, curious,

By the torrents fast and furious,

In the clay-bank deep were hidden,

Ages passed, and then, unbidden.

And the captives have arisen.

Broke the waves into their prison,

Scattered on the bank we find them

Where the nymphs left them behind them.

F6DUI5\R.?\5n^N6MY'

The Heavens in April.

BY GARRETT P. SERVISS. BROOKLYN. N. V.

The chart represents the aspect of
the evening sky at 9 P. M. on the
first of the month, 8 P. M. on the 15th
and 7 P. M. on the 30th. The drawing
shows the appearance of Halley's Com-
et at its last return previous to that
now awaited, viz, in 1835. On that
occasion it was in perihelion, i. e.,
nearest to the sun, on the 16th of

November. This time it is expected
to pass the same point in its orbit on
April 13, 1910. The reason why it
does not come to perihelion on the
same day at each return is because
its period of revolution about the sun
is not a fixed number of years pre-
cisely, but a certain number of years
and a fraction of another year. More-
over its period is variable owing to
the attractions of the planets, partic-
ularly Saturn and Jupiter, which some-

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

times delay it, and sometimes hurry
it onward in its orbit. This explains
the difficulty that astronomers find in
fixing" on the exact date of its arrival,
for the amount of the disturbance that
it suffers from the attraction of the
planets depends on the mass of those
planets that affect its motions and also
on its varying" distances from them.
Now, the masses of Jupiter and Saturn
are not even yet absolutely known, so
that a certain limit of error must al-
ways be allowed in calculating' the
movements of the comet under their
influence. This has been strikingly il-
lustrated since our last article on the
comet. At that time Messrs. Cowell
and Crommelin, whose calculations of
the movements of Halley's Comet are
generally regarded as the most trust-
worthy fixed April 8th as the most
likely time of the perihelion passage,
but later they have revised their
figures, and now they designate April
13th as the proper date, with a leeway
of a day or two. But this is not all,
and the fact again demonstrates the
difficulty of the calculations, for in a
recent number of the great German
astronomical periodical, the Astrono-
mische Nachrichten, another computer,
working for a prize, but whose name
is not given, fixes the date on June
1 8th, at least two months later than
the time selected by the English com-
puters. Mr. Crommelin says of this
discrepancy that it is a little disquiet-
ing, both because it shows how widely
apart the results found by two inde-
pendent calculations based on similar
data may be, and because it introduces
much uncertainty for those who are
trying to be the first to detect the
comet in the heavens, coming toward
the sun. If it does not arrive at per-
ihelion until June it will be seen in
quite a different part of the sky from
that which it would occupy in April.
Only the event can prove which cal-
culation is the correct one. But the
great divergence is somewhat aston-
ishing, considering that in 1835 the
computers, wdio did not have as correct
data as those now available, hit the day
of perihelion passage within two days
of the actual time, and none of the

calculations were as much as one
month in error. However, let the per-
ihelion be in April or in June, the
comet is sure to come somewhere near
the expected time, and is equally sure
to make a reputation for the first man
who succeeds in deserving: it. To-
gcther with the opposition of Mars in
September, this return of Halley's
Comet will go down in history as
one of the most interesting astrono-
mical events of the Twentieth Century.
What the comet will look like nobody
can say. As our picture shows, it
was a formidable looking object in
1835, although not comparable in that
respect with its appearance at some
previous returns, when it absolutely
frightened all Europe. Every time it
returns it shows some change of form
in tail and head. On this occasion it
may blaze with terrifying splendor or it
may be comparatively inconspicious.
But one thing bearing on this question
may be said : all comets that return
frequently to the neighborhood of the
sun gradually lose some of their sub-
stance, because they are all undergo-
ing a slow process of disintegration
and this may be happening with Hal-
ley's Comet, although to a less degree
than to comets like Encke's which
come to perihelion every three or four
years.

Jupiter continues to be the great
planetary ornament of the evening sky,
rising in the middle of the mouth be-
tween 2 and 3 P. M., and setting about
3 A. M. For the telescopic observer
nothing can exceed in interest his vast
colored belts and swiftly moving- moons.
The great planet, as far as we can see,
is only an immense ball of clouds.
If it has a solid nucleus it lies deep
beneath the surface of the planet as
it is presented to our eves.

Saturn can no longer be observed
in the evening. Tn the middle of the
month it rises about 5 A. M. After
April 3rd Saturn is a morning star.

Venus becomes an evening star on
April 28th, but. of course, is too near
the sun to be seen. Her glories are
reserved for late in the year.

Mercury is an evening star after
April 21st, reaching its greatest elong-

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

ation east of the sun in the latter
part of May, when it may be well
seen.

Uranus is a morning star, and con-
sequently unobservable, while Neptune,
although an evening star, in Gemini,
is only a telescopic object at the best.

It remains to speak of Mars, which
rises soon after midnight on the 30th
of April, and which will become a
conspicuous evening star as the sum-
mer advances. Its opposition this
year, which occurs on Sept, 24th, will
be more important than that of 1907,

the end of April, to take a glance at
.Mars, low in the east, and gleaming
with the peculiar ruddy light which
characterizes him, and which a few
months later will make him the cyno-
sure of all eyes. Such studies of the
planets in their aspects as they ap-
proach or recede from, the earth,
are exceedingly instructive as well as
interesting.

THE STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS.
At the hour represented in the
chart the great constellations of winter,

Evening SkyMap for APRIL

APRIL MOON PHASES
FULL Moon, April 5
LASTQ'tr., April 13.
NEWMoon, April 19
FIRST Q'tr,April27

FACE SOUTH AND
HOLD THE MAP OVER
YOUR HEAD-THE TOP
NORTH. AND YOU WILLSEE
THE STARS ANDPLANET5
JUST AS THEY APPEAR
IN THE HEAVENS.

SOUTH

because the planet will not only be
nearer the earth, but will also be much
farther north in the sky, so that it can
be well seen from northern as well as
southern latitudes. About the 19th
of September it will be only about 36,-
000,000 miles from the earth. It will
be distinctly worth the while of any-
body who happens to be up in the
^mall hours of the morning, toward

under the captainship of Orion, are
seen as it were in flight, and just about
to sink behind the western horizon.
Their line stretches from Argo Navis,
in the south-west around through the
east to Cassiopeia, far in the north-
west. And behind them, from one end.
of the vast column to the other, hangs,
like a cloud of sunlit dust above the
retreating host, the gauzy scarf of the

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

Milky Way. Over in the cast, as if
in pursuit, come the great summer
stars and constellations, led by Spica
in the Virgin, Arcturus in the Bear-
Driver (Bootes), and Vega in the Lyre.
Between the two hosts the central part
of the sky is relatively barren, Leo
high in the south, and the Great Dip-
per nearly overhead, being the only
constellations to attract much atten-
tion there. The huge serpent, Hydra,
with his diamond-shaped head under
the Beehive cluster in Cancer, stretches
eastward beneath Leo, Crater, Corvus
and Virgo, but with the exception of
Alphard he has no bright star. Coma
Berenices, above Virgo and between

Leo and Arcturus, gleams with a sil-
very lustre derived from its multitude
of small stars, and presents an admir-
able object for the opera-glass. A
little later in the evening, as Sirius
sinks behind the western horizon, Vega
begins to glitter with diamond bright-
ness above the north-eastern horizon.
Spica, in the meantime, advances from
the east, and proclaims herself the
queen-star of the Spring, for while she
is less brillant than Arcturus above
her, she possesses a singularly pure
white ray, which is hardly matched
in beauty by that of any other star
in the heavens.

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juxuocPocrocxxoOccoooccaoocQ

xpocaxocooocouoouuciuuxccoocoxicuJu flOP I'l jocoxpoooccocodcooco

MINERALOGY

^VAVAVAVXVAV^VAVAVAVig

Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

The Mineral Collector Company.

PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, 56 HAMILTON
PLACE.

New York, March 22, 1909.

To The Patrons of "The Mineral
Collector :"
It is with pleasure I anounce that I.
have arranged with Mr. Edward F.
Bigelow, editor of The Guide to Na-
ture, to introduce a department, to
be edited by myself, and thus make
that publication the successor of The
Mineral Collector. All unexpired sub-
scriptions are to be filled out by that
publication. We hope all persons
whose subscriptions have expired will
send in their renewals to me without
delay. As the subscription of The
Guide to Nature has been reduced
(beginning April 1909, from $1.50 to
$1.00 and is a much larger and better
publication than The Mineral Collec-
tor,) we hope all our subscribers will
use their best endeavors to aid in se-
curing additional subscriptions. YVe
would also like to secure notes, origi-

nal papers and descriptions of trips,
accompanied with photographs, where
possible for this department. I thank
my subscribers for their support in
the past, and request a continuance of
the same for The Guide to Nature,
as successor to The Mineral Col-
lector.

Very truly,

Arthur Chamberlain,
Editor and publisher of "The Mineral
Collector."

P. S. — Volume two of The Guide to
Nature starts with the April, 1909,
number. Every subscriber sending
$1.75 can secure the first two volumes.

To the Constituency of The Mineral
Collector:

The Guide to Nature and The Agas-
siz Association, represented by it, cor-
dially welcome you to our fellowship
in the study and love of nature. We
realize that minerals are of intense
interest to the careful student, and are

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

very attractive to lovers of the beauti-
ful. Minerals seem especially avail-
able for those who desire to make col-
lections, and we agree with Dana that,
"every one who desires to really learn
mineralogy must have a collection of
his own to examine and experiment
upon." We further agree with that
talented scientist that, "no subject is
better fitted to cultivate the powers of
observation and at the same time to
excite active interest than that of min-
eralogy."

No subject is also better adapted to
the work of the Chapters of The Agas-
siz Association, to which we call the
attention of all our new friends. "We
have Chapters of all ages and all de-
grees of proficiency. No efforts will be
spared to make "Mineralogy" one of
our best features.

Cordially yours,

Edward F. Bigexow.

Introductory.

In beginning this department, let
me say that I shall endeavor to make
it both attractive and instructive, and
that I shall do my best to make the
magazine itself even more successful
than it is. To do these things I must
have the cooperation of all interested
in minerals. Let me know what you
would like to have described. Send
me notes of your trips or of collecting
fields in your vicinity. If you are
puzzled about anything on this subject,
write to me. If you have the leisure
write a short article on some miner-
alogical subject that interests you and
send it to me. If you come across
any interesting items in print send
them, with name and date of the paper
in which they appeared. We want
every subscriber to feel that he is part
owner of this magazine and to take
just as much pleasure as I shall in
making it successful. Let us all be
like one happy family, each striving
to do the most to help the others.
Honing that I may be the means of
adding many new subscribers to The
Guide to Nature, and of adding many
new students to my beloved study of
the mineral world, I am.

Your humble servant,

Arthur Chamberlain.

How Sluice Mining Originated.

Colonel Eddy, of Nevada, claims the
credit of having originally introduced
the sluice-box for mining purposes ; the
invention owing its origin to an ac-
cidental discovery.

He gives the following account of
his connection with this important dis-
covery. In the spring of 1850, when all
operations were being carried on by
the aid of "long torn" and the "rocker,"
he located a claim in the ravine just
above the Catholic Church in Eureka.
There were several claims below him,
the holders of which refused to permit
him to run tailings on their grounds.
So he made a trough leading from his
location through theirs and to a point
below. On the bottom of the sluice,
wherever the different sections joined,
he nailed wrooden cleats to keep the
wrater and gravel from leaking through.

At the lower end of the sluice he
placed a rocker and for one day ma-
nipulated the dirt that came down it.
At the end of the day he found that
the rocker had saved very little gold.
Going along up the sluice he found
behind each of the cleats numerous
sparkling particles of gold that had
lodged there. He abandoned the use
of the rocker, increased the number of
cleats and then commenced what he
said was the first sluice mining ever
carried on, so far as he knows.

The sluice and riffles soon became
popular, causing the price of lumber to
advance rapidly. The colonel says
the only thing he regrets about his
discovery is that he did not have it
patented and thus win fame and
fortune.

Stones That Will Swim in the Human
Eye.

Eyestones are really portions of the
covering of certain shellfish. They
are found at the opening of the shell
and serve to close the entrance when
the animal draws itself within. They
are of various kinds, but those used as
eyestones are hard, stony bodies about
the size of split peas, one-third to one-
sixth of an inch in diameter, a little
longer than broad, having one surface
plane and the other convex.

MINERALOGY.

When they have been worn by the
action of the sea they are very smooth
and shining. Like other shells they
are composed of carbonate of lime.
When placed in a weak acid such as
vinegar, a chemical change takes place,
carbonic acid gas is given off and in
its escape produces the movements
which are popularly supposed to show
that the stone is "alive."

When one of the stones is placed
under the eyelid, at the outer corner,
the natural movements of the lid in
winking push it gradually towards the
inner side, and when it comes in con-
tact with the mote which is causing
the irritation this is carried along and
finally expelled with it.

The belief that such stones have a
peculiar detective power and move
about in the eye until they find and
remove the substance for which they
are sent, has no foundation in fact.

It is interesting to know that in the
lining membrane of the stomach of the
crawfish there are found small bodies
which go under the name of "crab's
eves," and look not unlike the true
eyestones. They have sometimes been
mistaken for them and presumably
would serve a similar purpose.

Collecting Interesting Minerals.

BY EORACE R. GOODWIN, PHIUPEU'II IA,
PENNSYLVANIA.

Let those of your readers who have
not visited the home of an enthusiastic
collector of minerals do so at the first
opportunity offered and they will be
treated to a new experience, spend a
pleasant hour, and in many cases
become interested in every stone and
rock encountered in their rambles
afield, with the result that the mineral
department of The Guide to Nature
will soon be in a flourishing condition.
T have been an active collector of
minerals for over a quarter of a century
and, while not advanced in the science,
have used my eyes to some purpose in
the field.

One of my most enjoyable and profit-
able experiences was the meeting with
the Student's Mineralogical Club, now
the Philadelphia Mineralogical Club,
on Thanksgiving Day, 1894, in Fair-

mount Park. The friendships there
formed have been of lasting benefit.

While searching for specimens in
a large quarry at Moores Station near
Trenton, New Jersey, some- time ago,
1 discovered a large cavity in the rock
which was lined with beautiful, snow-

SMOKY QUARTZ

white crystals of natrolite, a mineral
consisting of silica, alumina, soda and
water, belonging to the zeolite group
and named from natron, soda. Asso-
ciated with the acicular crystals of
natrolite wrere rhombic crystals of
yellow calcite (carbonate of lime) from
one half to one inch in diameter, the
combination of the two minerals being
very attractive. Although the material
is very fragile a number of fine speci-
mens were secured and are now safely
housed in my cabinet.

Numerous other minerals occur at
this locality, among them being
stilbite, both white and honey colored,
sometimes coated with iridescent pyrite;
calcite of various forms, chalcopyrite,
prehnite, galena, chalcedony and
several others that I cannot now recall.

On another occasion while digging
for quartz in a sand pit at Lansdowne,
Delaware County, Pennsylvania. I
unearthed a fine large crystal of smoky
quartz that weighs thirteen and three-
quarters pounds and is as fine a speci-

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

men as ever came out of Japan or
Switzerland, the latter place being
noted for the magnificent quartz found
there. The quartz occurred in a large
pocket of pegmatite which had under-
gone decomposition leaving the crystal
of quartz free. Many crystals were
found, some of very curious form, but
most of them were broken by the
laborers who knew nothing and cared
nothing about them.

Those who wish to find specimens
for themselves should investigate quar-
ries, railroad cuts and fills, outcrops
of rocks and excavations of all kinds,
select pieces that appear odd in com-
position or form and apply to the near-
est collector or museum for information.
It is important that the locality of
specimens be known as this is often of
great assistance in making deter-
minations.

Under the Auspices of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia

HERMAN T. WOLF, Editor

The Eyes of Chinese Goldfish.

BY HERMAN T. WOLF.

Among the highly developed toy
varieties of the Chinese goldfishes there
are a number of breeds characterized
by abnormal eye development. These
are known as telescopic-eyed or "Tel-
escopes" to American and European
breeders and fanciers, though the
Chinese designation Dragon-eyes
would better describe these species.

With these fishes the eyes have had
the principal attention of the Oriental
goldfish culturists, who by careful se-
lection and continued breeding have
produced monstrosities that would
seem incredible to those unfamiliar
with these highly developed fishes.

The eyes of the common goldfish,
like those of the carp and other
cyprinidae are placed at the sides
of the head, separated by a wide in-
terorbital space, with the eye-balls
nearly round and the slightly convex
cornea flattened and directed some-
what forward, so that the angle of
vision is both in front and to the sides.
They are enveloped in a gelatinous
layer in the cavity of the orbits, which
permits of a considerable movement

of the bulbus, and have brilliant dark
pupils and white, yellow or red irides.
In every respect, the eyes do not differ
from those of the other fishes of the
same order.

Beginning with this flat form of eye
the Chinese breeders have produced
enormously large protruding eye-balls
which in the different breeds assume
the form of spheroids, segmented
spheres, ovoids and truncated cones
almost entirely projected beyond their
orbits.

The cornea and crvstaline lens form
a smaller segment or superimposed
hemisphere, so that the eyes of the
finest specimens of the Dragon-eyed
goldfish protrude one-half to five-eights
inch from the sockets.

Investigations have shown that the
eye-ball becomes greatly elongated in
the direction of its optic axis, the dif-
ference between axial and equatorial
diameters is as much as three milli-
meters in the spheroidal, and five to
six millimeters in the conical form
of eyes, constituting an extremely my-
opic form of eye-ball, while that of the
common goldfish is flat and hyper-
metropic.

\<>r.\RIUM.

The shape of the globular lens is This near-sightedness may be of
not materially different from that of benefit to the fishes under the con-
the natural form, which indicates that ditions in which they are bred and
it is impossible for the image of a dis- reared, as in the confines of the
tant object formed by the lens to be aquarium and smaller breeding tank-
thrown on the retina at all, and so distance sight is of less value than an
necessarily producing a condition of optical adjustment that will clearly de-
extreme near-sightedness, an optical fine nearby objects.

DORSAL VIEW OF THE CHINESE CELESTIAL GOLDFISH

EYE-FORMATIONS OF CHINESE AND COREAN GOLDFISHES.

1. Eyes of the common goldfishes

2. Eyes of the Dragon-eyed goldfish as spheres

3. Eyes of the Dragon-eyed goldfishes, as ovoids

4. Eyes of the Dragon-eyed goldfishes, as truncated cones

5. Eyes of the Dragon-eyed goldfishes, as segmented spheres

S. Eyes of the Dragon-eyed goldfishes, the Celestial pupils turned
upward

adjustment for very near objects. 1 nese highly developed goldfishes all

Therefore, the name "Telescope" is a have defective eyesight, but others less

misnomer; the eye is distinctly myopic abnormally developed have a consid-

and short-sighted and not hyper- erable range of vision and an eye for-

metropic or far-sighted, as required of mation of some magnifying power as

an optical organ having telescopic compared with the human sight. They

capacity. distinguish objects in the water that

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

the fancier can scarcely discern with
the use of a reading" glass.

Expert judges distinguish between
these forms of protruding eyes, consid-
ering the globular or spheroidal form
of less merit than 'the segmented
sphere ; the ovoid form as next mer-
itorious, and the truncated cone as the
highest developed and most desirable
form of eye-ball. The greater their
size and their relative uniformity, to-
gether with perfection of development,
colors and distinct outlining of the
pupils and i rides, the more highly
prized the specimens, the more rare-
ly they are to be obtained, and the
greater their monetary value.

Plow considerable this may be it is
not of purpose here to state, but one
fancier in Philadelphia at one time had
over five hundred dollars invested in
goldfish marvels, not more than twenty
in number. These were not fanciful
or fictitious valuations, but actual com-
mercial values, governed as much by
supply and demand as the values of
other highly developed and greatly de-
sired household pets. The illustration,
a fine Chinese Celestial Goldfish
taken with permission from "Goldfish
Breeds and Other Aquarium" Fishes"
is an exact portrait of one of these
fishes, in the writers opinion, not the
gem of the collection.

The globular is the general eye
form of the scaled Telescope goldfish,
common in China, introduced into
Japan subsequent to the Chinese-Jap-
anese War, and now quite generally
bred in the United States. The seg-
mented sphere and the ovoid forms of
protruding eyes are the desired char-
acteristics of the transparently-scaled
Telescope goldfish, derived directly
from China. The truncated cone form
of eye is the distinguishing char-
acteristic of the finest-breed Moor, or
Black Chinese Telescope goldfish, of
which some remarkable soecimens have
been owned in Philadelphia. Captain
Mayer, of the Imperial German Navy,
informed the writer that a Chinese
Prince at Amoy, China, had thousands
of these fishes in his parks, but with
all the influence that could be brought
to bear through the German consul

at that Port, he could not obtain per-
mission to inspect them.

Still another form of highly-develop-
ed eye-ball is that of the Celestial Tel-
escope goldfish. Almost entirely pro-
truding from the orbit this eye is larger
in its equatorial than in its axial diam-
eter and has an extremely small
pupil directed upward, so that the gaze
of the fish is always to the surface of
the water. Protruding almost at right-
angles from the sockets, the eyes are
nearly rigid and the muscular control
of the bulbus scarcely perceptible.
In these monstrosities the eye develop-
ment is so extremely abnormal as to
have produced an almost blinded fish.

Early travelers mention that this
form of eye was produced by hatching
Dragon-eyed goldfishes in a jar having
a lid in which there is a slit, and that
the upward trend of the eye is due to
the fixed upward gaze of the fish, for
both light and food.

This assertion lacks positive confir-
mation by recent travelers in China and
Corea and like much else stated of the
Orient may only be based on tradition
or hearsay evidence. Experts in gold-
fish culture are not willing to believe
that goldfishes can be reared in basins
from which abundant daylight is ex-
cluded, or in which the water is not
aerated by a plentiful growth of aqua-
tic plants ; which latter cannot be done
except in the presence of both day-
light and sunlight.

Wooden-Framed Household Aquaria.
BY M. R. LIPPINCOTT, Coi.IJXOSWoolt, X. J.

In advocating wrooden-framed aquaria,
the writer wishes to prove that, not-
withstanding the many statements to
the contrary, it is not only possible
but practicable to construct large-
sized aquarium frames of wood. He
does not wish to detract from the pres-
tige of the metal framed slate bottom-
ed kind, but there are times when it
is desirable to have an aquarium more
nearly conforming with the furnishings
of the room in which it stands,
especially when one wishes to have
his "fishy world" in the parlor,
and has the esthetic objections of the
p-entler sex to overcome. This will be

AQUARIUM.

much easier if he can show his fair
critics an object that will be an orna-

A CORNER POST OF THE WOODEN
AQUARIUM

ment instead of an unsightly iron-
framed affair painted any of the various
lines of the rainbow and supported on
a sewing stand or on an angular frame
of gas-pipe ; either sufficient for a green
house but hardly conformable with
oil painting's, ( )riental rugs and a
piano.

Just as an appropriate frame en-
hances the beauty of a picture so the
character of an aquarium affects the
beauty of its contents. We sometimes
see aquaria that are beautiful in re-
gard to their contained plant and ani-
mal life, but do not display them to
advantage because of a shabby metal
frame and inappropriate stand.

There are exceptions even in metal-

framed aquaria ; nickel and brass
frames are very neat and handsome,
and tables make satisfactory supports.
The writer has one, recently seen,
in mind, which is constructed of four
copper posts bolted to a slate base
with the top and bottom rails elimi-
nated, and which has an exceedingly
hands* >me appearance.

The cost of constructing wooden-
framed aquaria, with the exception of
the time consumed, is no greater than
the cost of constructing the iron-fram-
ed type ; nor is its construction more
difficult.

Any one who is sufficient mechanic
to make the exact measurements and
the neat corner miters required in a
metal frame, will find the construction
of a wooden frame no more difficult.
Any of the cabinet woods may be uti-
lized, although owing to their hard-
ness quartered-oak and Cuban mahog-
any are preferable. In the method of
construction used by the writer, the

■ ■ . 1 . . . ^ -<»iAti:

■{IB

THE WOODEN FRAMED AQUARIUM
IN USE

aquarium stands upon its own base,
made in one piece. The corner posts

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

are one and one-half by forty-three
inches ; the length thirty-two inches
and the breadth eighteen inches. The
framing' is comparatively simple yet
strong"; all the end and side rails being
halved, glued and screwed together
vvilh two number nine, one-half
inch screws, inserted from each direction.
A projection the width of the corner post
is allowed at each corner on both the
end and side rails. These projections
are in turn mortised into the corner
post and secured with glue and two
other screws inserted into the post
from the opposite direction. There-
fore, each corner is secured with glue
and four screws, making a joint of
great strength. The top and middle
rails and the posts between these points
are grooved for the reception of the
glass. The bottom of the aquarium is
made of seven-eight inch wood and is
supported by four cross pieces beneath,
giving a firm foundation for the weight
it has to sustain.

The manner of cementing and set-
ting the glass is identical with the pro-
cess when metal frames are emuloyed.
After the side and end pieces of glass
are nlaced in position, a piece of olate
glass is set into the bottom, thus lock-
ing the four side pieces into position
and keeping the water from coming
into contact with the frame at any
point.

The soace between the middle and
bottom frames under the aquarium
proper may be enclosed and fitted with
doors to serve as a cabinet for foods,
utensils, etc ; or it may be left open or
fitted with a shelf.

The style of finish may be deter-
mined by the nature of the wood and
the furniture it is desired to match.
Aquaria so constructed are strong and
have been satisfactory to the writer
in every way. One, of the above di-
mensions, will hold about thirty-three
gallons of water, which means a weight
of about two hundred and seventy-five
pounds, not including about fifty pounds
of sand and pebbles, having a pressure
on the bottom of about seven and three
quarters pounds per square inch. It
will probably take a little longer time to
make an aquarium with a wooden than

with a metal frame, but it is just as easily
constructed and the finished product,
from an artistic point of view, is far
superior to the metal forms usually to
be had at the aquarium dealers' shops.
In every way it is a beautiful house-
hold ornament, a constantly varying
animated picture, in an appropriate,
handsome and artistic frame.

At Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island.

The annual announcement of the
summer session of the Biological
Laboratory has just been received. It
calls attention to the excellent Board
of instruction and the facilities for
studying plant and animal life.

The real student of nature, especial-
ly from a technical point of view, will
find the Laboratory a good place at
which to spend a vacation. For fur-
ther particulars, address Dr. Charles
B. Davenport, Cold Spring Harbor,
Long Island, New York.

Lack of Knowledge of Common Things.

The following letter has been re-
ceived :

"A strange animal has made its ap-
pearance in the Department of

the City Hall. The head of the Bureau
thinks a large spider has changed by
metamorphosis into a large green
moth. I know this to be impossible,
but I am anxious that an expert shall
investigate the matter, as I am no au-
thority on such subjects. The moth
is undoubtedly a very strange one, and
is entirely unfamiliar to me.

"If you can call and look at it, I
think you will be interested."

There are so many things to know
these days that considerable discrimi-
nation should be used in making a se-
lection for school children. They are
probably taught some things less use-
ful than an elementary knowledge of
Entomology and other branches of na-
tural history. There may be some
excuse for the grown people of to-day
who know nothing about the trans-
formation of insects, but the children
of the present time should be better
taught. The large spider mentioned
in the letter was Arglope riparia and
the moth PJwlus pandoras. — Entomolo-
gical N^ezvs.

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL.

To Contributors.

The Guide to Nature pays for con-
tributions only in the satisfaction that
comes to every contributor in having
his best work well published for the
benefit of other workers. There can
be no better remuneration. Therefore
your best work in this great "labor of
love" is solicited and expected.

You are invited to share in the liberal
pay received by the editor and the
members of the family who assist him,
and that is the joy of doing faithful
work in a cause than which there is
none better on this earth.

Every cent of income from The;
Guide; to Nature; and from The
Agassiz Association is placed on the
"Received" side of our cash book. On
the "Paid" side are only actual ex-
penses— paper, printing, engraving,
mailing. This book is audited once a
year by members of The Agassiz
Association incorporation and is open
at all times to inspection by any con-
tributor or AA member.

Label the Trees.

One of our subscribers called at-
tention to the fact that the trees in
Central Park of New York City are
not labelled as in most other parks.
The letter was referred to the Depart-
ment of Parks, New York City. The
following is the astonishing explana-
tion of the Commissioner :

Your letter of the 22nd received.
An effort was made, some time ago.

to label the trees in Central Park,
but was found impracticable. Mis-
chievous people changed the signs and
others, destructively inclined, mu-
tilated and broke them and on the
whole it was found impossible to main-
tain them. A police force of sufficient
number could not be maintained to
protect the signs and they were there-
fore discontinued."

Henry Smith.
Commissioner of Parks,
Boroughs of Manhattan and Richmond.

This letter was referred to our sub-
scriber with the result that the fol-
lowing sensible arguments were ad-
vanced :

"I am so glad you are to take up
the matter of the park trees and wish
you all success in it. Many nature
students will be grateful to you be-
side myself. That Commissioner
evidently does not appreciate the fact
that 'Difficulties are meant to rouse,
not discourage.' I hope the way will
be opened speedily for it. without mak-
ing you too much trouble."

The following extracts from the
correspondence of our subscriber nice-
ly state a nature student's "reason
why" trees in a public park should
be labelled :

"I have often felt the total lack of
any information concerning trees or
any growing things in the park. In
Boston, Washington and other places
the trees are named for the would be
learner and so it ought alwavs to be

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

in a public park I think. It is a
great help to those who are studying
and an incentive to others to 'take
notice.'

"If the tree is marked, the stroller
will stop and read the name, then
will glance upward into the tree to
see what it is like, will do so with
others and so unconsciously begin his
nature study. If not marked, the
chances are "ten to one that he will
not even see it."

Many New Friends.

We celebrate our moving into
Arcadia (at Sound Beach, Connecti-
cut) by the acquisition of many new
friends. First, we welcome the entire
constituency of "The Mineral Col-
lector" which has been merged in
The Guide to Nature. Our new
department, "Mineralogy," is to be
edited by Mr. Arthur Chamberlain.
for fifteen years editor of 'The Min-
eral Collector."

Second, the Aquarium Society of
Philadelphia, and many of its friends
who are interested in aquaria, join our
work. The new department, "Aquarium"
will be under the charge of Mr.
Herman T. Wolf. This addition of
a large number of persons who are
experts with aquaria will undoubtedly
add much of interest to those who
have hitherto had only a general or
an aesthetic interest in the subject.

And last but not least we welcome
the many more who have come to us
through the efforts of our friends of
the first year, largely those who have
accepted our offer of subscription at
seventy-five (75c.) cents a year when
sent in addition to one at the new and
reduced price of one ($1.00) dollar.
A cordial welcome is extended to all
these friends and we, in return, offer
them the facility for cultivating one
of the greatest joys of life, the oppor-
tunitv to study and love nature and
the natural objects that surround us
evervwhere.

A Magnificent Gift.

About six years ago Mr. Zenas
Crane of Dalton, Massachusetts,
founded a museum at Pittsfield, Mas-
sachusetts, devoted chiefly to natural
history, at a cost of something like
$100,000. This museum is well equip-
ped and specimens are quite frequently
added. I have heard it stated that the
equipment has cost more than $50,000.
This last month Mr. Crane an-
nounced that he would build an addi-
tion to the museum costing about
$35,000. And it is to be presumed that
he contemplates adding more speci-
mens. From what I have been able
to learn, he could not have made a gift
more acceptable to the people of Pitts-
field and vicinity. It speaks well for
the increasing interest in nature that
about $200,000 can thus be used to
good advantage in one small locality.
Every naturalist will be glad to learn
of these magnificent gifts to the cause
of nature study. Our Agassiz Asso-
ciation especially rejoices and congra-
tulates the donor because he is a Life
Member, and was a Trustee from 1892
to January of this year (when the in-
corporation was changed to Stam-
ford.) There is no greater mission
on earth than to lead others to knowr
more of the earth, and through that
knowledge, its Maker.

I am wonderfully pleased with "The Guide
to Nature" in every way. It is what we have
needed and I hope it will get into the hands
of all who would most appreciate it. This
would give you as large a subscription list
as you would want. — Silas H. Berry.

Eating Eggs Several Years Old.

The Pekin ducks are domestic birds
and are bred in large numbers in this
country for the markets. Good specimens
sometimes attain a weight of nine or ten
pounds. In color they are pure white with
orange bills and feet. Like all other do-
mestic ducks they are a direct descendant
of the Wild Mallard. The breed originated
in China, where they are raised in great
numbers.

In their native country the eggs of these
birds are very much prized. They are
gathered from the nests and packed in
crates containing black mud; after which
they are stored away to "ripen." A fresh
egg is not considered fit to eat by a China-
man. Eggs packed in this fashion are
often kept for several years before using.
— G. D. T.

This statement as to age of "edible
eggs, seems incredible, but it comes
from a reliable and well informed breed-
er of water-fowl.

CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION.

fORRESP^DENCE
^^ and Inform l

Information

An Unique Sun Halo.

London, Ontario, Canada,
To The Editor :

One of graduates. Air. D. J. Lons-
berry, teaching at Bullocksville in the
Province of Alberta, has sent me a
sketch and description of a halo which
he and his pupils observed. The halo
was distinctly visible for a period of
forty-five minutes, central shortly be-
fore 9 A. M.

Mr. Lonsberry assures me of the
correctness of the arcs and circles. Me
says he is less certain of the arrange-
ment of the color bands except that it
was common remark that the red was
on the side towards the sun. 1 can
rely on any report Mr. Lonsberry
makes. 1 envied him his opportunity
of studying that remarkable and beau-
tiful halo.

[ohn DearnESS.

Mr. Lonsberry writes to the effect
that on the morning of the halo he had
the children observing it for a few
minutes before school. After the open-
ing exercises he and they spent about
twenty minutes drawing the design
both on paper and on the blackboard.
Each child was required to represent it
as he saw it. They had permission to
leave the room to observe the halo and
make sure of the size and position of
the arcs and circle. The bands resem-
bled rainbows but the red was always
mi the side next the sun. The color was
most brilliant at the points of inter-
sections of the light grey band and
the double curved band. The inner
circle was very brilliant ; next in
brilliancy came the double-curved band
and the large circle. The highest arc
was the least brilliant. The long band
passing through the sun was a bright
grey.

Two Good Suggestions.

Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
To The Editor :

I have never had experience in rais-
ing plants from coleus leaves, but we
have often . done so with begonia
leaves. Place the petiole up to the
blade in a bottle kept filled with water.
After several weeks a number of root-
lets will appear at the top of the pet-
iole ; and in time a new plant will ap-
pear, growing out of the summit of the
Detiole on the upper side of the blade.
By the time this plant appears the
blade of the leaf usually has withered
and dropped off. After the new plant
has two or three small leaves it is ready
to transnlant.

Several years ago we saved the linen
threads which Mrs. Gruber drew out
of a piece of linen used in making
drawn work. After the orioles had
come in May we hung large bunches of
these threads on the trees and grape
arbors in the yard. These birds eager-
lv seized upon them. and. on a cherry
tree in front of the house, a pair built
a nest composed almost entirely of
these linen threads. A chipping spar-
row also used a few threads, and the
upper part of the nest of a least fly-
catcher was completely covered with
them. Since that time we regularly
hang out strings, cords, and threads

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

for the birds ; and we derive great pleas-
ure in watching the orioles, chipping
sparrows, robins, and the other birds
appropriate them for building mate-
rial.

Yours sincerely,

C. L. Gruber.

Where the Trouble Is.

Wellesley, Massachusetts.
To the Editor :

We have been talking over at home
your editorial on why people consider
The Guide to Nature of interest only
to children. Of course some people do
not care anything for nature study any
way. It doesn't happen to interest
them just as others do not care for
music or books. But I think most of
those who are not interested have not
been educated up to it. Thev have to
learn to appreciate it just as one learns to
appreciate art, and real nature study
is just beginning to be introduced to
the world at large. Until recentlv
it has been only those who were born
with a love for nature who have taken
the trouble to make themselves ac-
quainted with it.

The trouble lies, not in The Guide to
Nature, but in those people them-
selves, and I think this magazine and
Arcadia can and will do a great deal to
make nature study more widespread.

Wishing you all manner of success
in Arcadia, I am

Very sincerely- yours,

Dorothy A. Baldwin.

An Albino Redpoll.

Goodwin, S. D.
To The Editor :

One day late in autumn when the
chill winds swept across the prairies
of Dakota, driving the last clinging
leaves to earth and urging birds that
loitered still, on their southward mi-
gration, I chanced upon a flock of about
fifty redpolls. These birds are infre-
quent visitors in eastern South Dakota
and but few save this one flock have
ever come under my observation.
With a thrill of joyous anticipation I
cautiously approached the sweet voiced
throng which to me was so rare a sight.
But a rarer sight than all the other birds,

was one member of their flock, an
albino redpoll.

The albino's plumage, except the
primaries and tail, which were a deep
yellow, and the characteristic red cap,
was snowy white. One might fancy
that Nature had designed the mark-
ings of that beautiful bird with the ut-
most care, as though for an entire race
and not an individual. There was none
of the freakishness usually shown in
the markings of albino birds. The
perfect cap contrasting so beautifully
with the pure white, seemed of a deeper
red than did the caps of its compan-
ions. The rich yellow markings of the
wings and tail were without a rlaw
and lent tone and grandeur to the
beauty of the rare bird.

I might have found it difficult to
believe the albino was a redpoll, had
I not seen him with his kin, observed
him gathering seeds in the character-
istic manner of the finches and heard
him answer the sweet, canary-like
notes of his companions. With aban-
donment he joined in the happy play,
the erratic movements and undulating
flights of his flock, unmindful of the
fact that his plumage made him an
object of rare beauty even among the
pretty redpolls.

After that memorable autumn day,
I did not see the albino redpoll though
I observed stray members of his flock.
A few remained and sometimes broke
the winter silence of our grove with
their sweet calls, even when the ther-
mometer registered a temperature of
twenty degrees below zero, but the
greater portion of the flock, and with
them the albino, had flitted on their
way.

Hattie Washburn.

Crossbills in Prospect Park.

Brooklyn, New York.
To the Editor :

T was assured several times during
the past winter that there were red
crossbills in Prosnect Park, but I failed
to find them. On March eighth red
birds and olive birds were eating on the
ground, almost as tame as tame as
could be. My first thought was that
they were crossbills, but as T had
always looked for them in the pines.

CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION.

feeding from the cones, J feared I was
mistaken. You see 1 had overlooked
the statement of the bird books that
later in the season the}- may be seen
picking up seeds from the ground.

The problem was soon solved tor
they were very willing to be inspected,
letting one come within a foot or two
of them, when it was easy to see the
crossed bills. One hopped upon a
park seat with a man sitting upon the
other end, and all showed themselves
very companionable. At least two of
them have died and 1 fear it was a
case of "killed by kindness." They
ate greedily a mixture of fat and bird-
seed such as had furnished food all
winter for other birds but which may
have been too rich for them.

On March 14 I saw an albino robin
in the same park. He had a big patch
of white on the breast and many
smaller patches on the back, these
showing more plainly when he flew.
He gave the impression of being about
half white. I have heard of a robin
with even more white, but this is the
most decided albino I have ever seen.
Caroline M. Hartwell.

moss to grow in but instead of hav-
ing a very short root it was quite
long. This shows that it does not
absolutely need moss to grow in; any
kind ot rich earth seems to do.
Sincerely yours,

Lilian Beatty.

The Cup Lichens.

Peekskill, N. Y.
To the Editor:

The cup lichen is beautiful in color,
I think, with the pale pastel colors
blending into each other.

It is of a species of rubbery sub-
stance and shaped like a tiny cup with
a long slender stem. This cup tends
to deepen as the plant grows larger
around. It usually grows in moss
of different kinds. These form a sort
of bed for the roots. The roots are
/'// the moss roots and when the lichen
commences to grow it is just like the
moss. It has no real roots, only a sort
of cup arrangement at the bottom.
Although the cup part is not open
to the bottom of the plant, the stem
below the cup is hollow and if one
pricked the bottom of the cup it would
make a continuous open tube from
one end of the plant to the other.

One of the largest specimens that
I have seen grewr from a piece of wood
and had only a verv thin coating of

The cup lichens, so well shown in
the photographs, are of special interest
as being among the most highly de-
veloped members of the group. So
far as I can judge it is the form known
to botanists as Cladonia pvxidata,
which is distinguished from other
Cladonias by having brown fruit
borne on the rim of a more or less
scaly or granular cup which is ashy-
green and of the form shown in the
pictures. Other well-known Cladonias
are the "reindeer moss" (Cladonia
rangiferina) an important food of the
reindeer, and various "coral lichens"
with brown, flesh-colored, or scarlet
fruit, and the "red cup-moss" which
differs from Cladonia pyxidata mainly
in having the fruit bright red. It is
of this that Mrs. Hemans wrote in
the following stanza : —
"Oh! green is the turf where my brothers

play
Through the long bright hours of the

summer clay;
They find the red cup-moss where they

climb,
And they chase the bee o'er the scented
thyme."

The Cladonias are a numerous com-
pany differing from one another often
a good deal in appearance but readily
distinguished from other lichens
though the peculiarities observed by
your correspondent ; that is to say
mainly as possessing an upright fruit-
bearing part which is always hollow
and usually arises from or is accom-
panied by horizontal somewhat leaf-
like parts which may be attached to
the ground or may grow out from the
sides of the upright parts like little
shelves or leaves.

One of the strangest things about
lichens is that they are not so simple
as thev look. If we examine a very
thin slice of a leaf-like part under a
microscope magnifying one or two
hundred diameters, we find in the slice

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

numerous bright green globular bodies
surrounded by slender colorless
threads. Many facts go to show that
the green globules are tiny algae or
seaweeds such as ordinarily grow on
moist rocks or bark, while the threads
surrounding them belong to a sort
of fungus somewhat like a mushroom
which being unable to make any food
for itself, because of its lack of the
necessary Green coloring matter, feeds
upon the green algae it has imprisoned.
But for the food it takes from the algae
the fungus makes good return by af-
fording them protection, keeping" them
moist, screening" them from too much
light, and providing them with all the
materials they need for making more
food than they require for their own
use. Hence we find the algae within
the lichen often, growing more vig-
orously than the same kind does when
Hying free. The result is that these
cooperatiye communities we call
lichens are able to thrive in situations
where no other plants can liye. "When
bare rock is exposed on a mountain
side lichens are the first forms of life
to gain a foothold. Particles of dust
caught by them accumulate as a slight
soil which may support true mosses
that in turn may catch more soil and so
in time prepare for the coming" of little
herbs or shrubs or, finally, a mighty

forest. Thus lichens are Nature's
pioneers. They do not need any
soil to grow upon although they are
often found upon soil of yarious kinds.
Clean air, sunlight, moisture, and a
place to cling to are about their only
requirements. Accordingly, in the
case of these cup lichens found with
the moss suspect that it was the
lichens which arrived first, and that
the moss came to live with them.

I dare say the moss was perfectly
welcome. Cup lichens are used to
such neighbors. Indeed, it may not
be too much to say that long associ-
ation with mosses perhaps brought
about the making of cups wherebv the
lichens are enabled to catch some extra
moisture and at the same time to hold
their fruits sufficiently high for letting"
breezes carry off the minute spores
by means of which the plant is spread
abroad. As for the mosses growing
over tltem — two can play at that game;
and we often find little lichens cling-
ing to mosses as if they could stand
the arrangement as long as the moss
could.

The exceptionally lovely coloring of
lichens to which your correspondent
refers and well compares to a pastel,
is I believe too seldom appreciated.
Her remark recalls some of the de-
lightful surprises I have had in ex-'

A CLUSTER OF CUP LICHENS OX A ROCK

CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION.

amining these lowly plants under dif-
ferent conditions of moisture and light.
1 am reminded also of the wide range
of often brilliant dyes which are ob-
tainable from lichens. Some of these

THE CUP LICHENS AMONG THE MOSSES

were used by the Scotch for their
plaids. Nowadays about the only
lichen dye much used is the blue
litmus of the chemical laboratory; but
perhaps it may interest some of your
readers to know of a simple way of
obtaining a variety of colors from our
common lichens. To some water in
a small bottle add enough ammonia to
give it a rather strong" pungent odor,
then introduce into this some of the
lichen which has been powdered or
broken into small bits. Cork the bottle
tightly, and allow* it to stand for a few-
hours or days, shaking it occasionally
In some cases a strong color will ap-
pear immediately. I can especially" re-
commend for trial the scarlet-fruited
Cladonias, and some of the flat lichens
growing upon rocks: but any form is
worth trying and may yield quite un-
expected results.

Frederick LkRov Sargent.

A Reply to "It Interests Children."

Washington, Connecticut.
To in e Editor:

The apparently popular belief that
nature study is only interesting to
children and the unreasonableness of
otherwise intelligent individuals of
what nature study for adults consists
are two big difficulties, which other
teacher naturalists, as well as the
Editor of The Guide to Nature, have
had to contend with and perhaps a
few words from a reader, who is also
a contributor to the columns of this
worthy magazine, may throw a little
light on this dark subject.

I firmly believe there is no line in
nature study where the child's inter-
est ends and the adult's begins. Of
course there is something in the
manner of presenting material, but to
write about the outdoor world for
"grown ups," in so clear a manner
that the intelligent child may com-
prehend and be interested, is indeed
a rare art. The man who declared
"The Guide to Nature too childish,"
unwittingly paid the magazine in
question a fine compliment.

I well remember .my disgust as a
young girl when I remarked to an
intelligent, gray haired friend that I
should like to write articles for the
magazines about the things which
interested me and she replied, "Why
perhans you could just for children!"
Now I have no happier experience than
when I have successfully written a
nature article just for a child, for it
is a far more difficult task than to
write for "grown ups." Many a suc-
cessful author of children's tales will
agree with me on this point. An in-
telligent child is an honest and unspar-
ing critic and nature fake study does
not appeal to him. The child, "who
is father of the man," is nearer to
the heart of nature and knows what
he wants. Surely there is something
wrong -with our foundations when we
cannot enjoy a good periodical like
The Guide to Nature. A continued
diet of chocolate creams will destroy
one's appetite for a sound meal. We
have had so many dollar magazines,
which only deal with our money

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

making", money spending interests of
great cities we no longer cared for
"the common things of uncommon
interest" which, as an old school friend
has just written me, make all the dif-
ference between plain ordinary exist-
ence and living.

A great part of this national failing
is due to our educational system. The
average child is early taught that he
must imbibe just enough knowledge
of certain subjects to safely carry him
from one grade of the grammar school
to the next until he reaches the safe
harbor of the high school, where the
teacher's chief duty is to pilot him
into college, treatment which many
scientists but few naturalists survive.
Once established in University Halls,
the taking of certain courses, the cram-
ming for examinations, the straining
for coveted honors occupy all his work-
ing hours and he walks blindly across
the college campus, to the end of his
course.

For example on a certain New
England campus is a fine specimen of
a "witches' broom." I have reason
to believe not five in this year's gradu-
ating class have seen this curiosity and
probably not more than one in the
five observed it without having his
attention called to it by a professor
who has a love for outdoor things. As
to the fondness of certain scientists for
articles which "bristle with gigantic
words," I have often noted that the
untaught are much impressed by the
unintelligible terms of science and
those to whom these terms are actually
familiar rarely trouble the reader or
printer except when necessary, for
there is no trade, art or profession
which we can successfully learn or
teach without the nsc of a few technical
terms ; but the naturalist is one who
has learned to dispense with much of
the dry-as-dust nomenclature in order
t( > interest the public.

T remember attending a certain
botanical field day and after spending
a hard forenoon burdening poor little
grasses and weeds with jaw breaking
names we came upon a poor sar-
sanarilla olant. The leading spirit of
the club failed to recall the scientific
name and none of the group could

think of the common name. Suddenly
a younger member of the party shouted,
"I have it; it's that stuff advertised
for a tired feeling." The good natured
laugh which followed showed that
interest in dry-as-dust nomenclature
was at an ebb.

We wish success to the The Guide
to Nature with its articles about com-
monplace nature written in an
uncommonly good way.

W. C. Knowles.

Children, Adults and Chipmunks.

To the Editor:

Answering the query as to why
The Guide to Nature should be con-
sidered "of interest to children" only,
is it not simply "force of habit?" The
last question, what is there about a
tree, a dog, etc. that does not or should
not interest an adult, is rather begging
the question, as there is a wide dif-
ference between "does not" and "should
not." That which usually pertains
only to children might fairly be spoken
of as "childish ;" and certain it is that
the average adult does lose interest
in the wonderful world of Nature —
new and strange to the child, but
grown superficially familiar to the
adult, and few grown people retain
their early love for pets. The lady
who took no interest in the story of
Owney would probably have taken
no interest in Owney himself, as many
grown people do not care for dogs,
and some dislike them intensely.

Whether this should be so is another
matter, but that it is so, The Guide
to Nature is a substantial admission,
— being published for the avowed pur-
pose of teaching grown people that
which most of them do not now know,
i. e., that there is real pleasure to be had
from an intimate acquaintance with
the world around us ; so the attitude
complained of was to be exoected, and
only to be evercome partially and by
degrees. The student of Daphnia and
Cyclops* might regard rabbits as child-
ish because they were the companions
of his own childhood and the pets of
his own children; whereas no one ever
thought of making a net of a Cvclons,
and aside from the "Oh's" and "Ah's"
of the dilettante microscopist they are

C< >RRKSI'< ).\I)ENCE AND L\'F< >k\IATI< ).\.

never heard of except as the work of
a serious student ; hence, as the)' have
no connection with child life, no one
would class them as a childish amuse-
ment, though the average adult would
consider them not worthy of notice.

( )n the other hand, the difference
between a child's interest and an
adult's is often one of degree rather
than of kind. The child will pick up
pretty pebbles and stones on the shore,
merely because they are pretty, while
the scientist may pick up similar stones
for the story they tell of the formation
of continents. Both are interested in
the stones, but with a difference ; while
between the child and the scientist is
the average adult who has lost the
power of seeing any beauty in the
pebbles and has not acquired the
knowledge which enables him to read
the story of the strataed rocks. To
many people the absence of long words
raises the presumption that the subject
has been treated in a simple and ele-
mentary manner, suitable to the com-
prehension of the child, and dealing
only with things they knew and ceased
to care for long ago. They do not
know of the existence of a middle plane
wherein one lives in an intimate,
friendly relation with the world of
Xature, seeing and feeling ever
clearer and deeper into the wondrous
beauty and sweetness of it all, with-
out needing to know all the formid-
able technicalities of the laboratory.

Regarding Mr. Beecher's chipmunk
on his lao, I can say "me too" — only
mine did not have a string to him.
Had taken a book and lunch one
summer day, for a quiet afternoon "by
the shores of Gitchee Gumee, by the
shining Big Sea Water," and had
chosen a spot under shelter of a low
bank. Toward evening, after I had
eaten my lunch, a chipmunk suddenly
sprang down over the bank, alighting
a few feet from me, evidently on his
way to the water. He stopped in sur-
prise at sight of me, stared for a few
minutes, and then took a little jump
toward me ; stopped again to look me
over, picked up a large crumb that
happened to lie at his feet, looked at
me intently a few seconds longer, and
then gave a long jump and alighted

squarely on my lap, with his crumb
held firmly in his mouth. 1 believe
he intended to sit there and eat it,
but as I sat in breathless delight at
the charming confidence of the friendly
little soul, a group of rather noisy
young people further along the beach
suddenly became still more noisy, and
frightened the tiny creature, who
sprang up the bank and disappeared,
carrying his precious crumb. Am
afraid 1 wished that crowd — well, never
mind wdiere. The noticeable point was
that his friendly overtures were not
prompted by hunger, for he already
had the food without coming to me,
and there was none on my lap for
him to see or smell.

The fly-catching mouse of Detroit
is not alone in that propensity, as on
two occasions one of our office mice,
which I had tamed so he would climb
up and sit on my lap to eat lunch,
caught and ate flies which came too
near in an attempt to get a share of
the good things.

How could one procure copies of Mr.
Bentley's snow crystal books, pub-
lished by the Weather Bureau? Would
also like to get a print of Mr. Norton's
photo of birches bending over the
river. His address is not given with
the article. Would you care for an
"ice storm" photo taken near enough
to show detail of branches?

Truly the program for the Arcadia
Summer School sounds delightful. I
shall be there in spirit, and perhaps
some time in more tangible form.

If in this long epistle there is any-
thing available as fodder for the
"Elephant," do not hesitate to extract
it and ''blue pencil" the rest. The
reading of the magazine left me with
a desire to "talk things over," but
doubtless you have a large and capable
waste basket.

Sincerely yours.

Nellie B. Pendergast.

For Mr. Bentley's snow crystal
books or for his photographs, address
him at Jericho, Vermont.

For Mr. Norton's photographs,
address him at Bristol, Connecticut.

The Guide to Nature desires to

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

have submitted photographs on all
forms of outdoor interests.

Your comment that the reading of
the magazine leaves a desire to talk
things over is one of the best that we
have received. The editor is thoroughly
desirous not to have abstract articles
but to have a close personal relation
among students and lovers of nature.

How I Became Interested in Nature.

BY C. A. CI. ARK, LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

When I was between three and four
years of age, 1 lived in West Lynn,
close to the salt marshes where birds
and insects were abundant, but being
very young, 1 didn't know a crow from
a sandpiper, Nearly every day I used
to roam over the marshes near my
house and always avoided the streams

they did not seriously attract my at-
tention.

During the warm summer days in-
sect life is the chief attraction on the

RED MAPLE WITH TWO TRUNKS

marshes, and butterflies, bees, wasps
and the like are seen flying from
flower to flower extracting the nectar
found in most of the blossoms and
supplying hundreds of insects with
food. On the ground and all over the
tall grass blades I saw hundreds of
grasshoppers jumping here and there
as I walked through the herbage and
they seemed to be my chief attraction.
Every chance I could get I roamed
over the marshes in search of grass-
hoppers and no other insect seemed
to be in my mind. T took a large-
necked bottle, and went out on the
marsh, catching grasshoppers in my
hands and placing them in the bottle.
I stayed on the marsh until my bottle
and pools of water that are frequently was solidly packed with them and then
seen in such a locality, never getting returned home. My father kept sev-
near enough to fall into one of them, eral hens, ducks and geese and he gave
The streams were full of minnows but the grasshoppers to the hens. It was

S TIDYING THE GYPSY MOTHS

C( )RRESP( >NDENCE AND [NFORMATION.

great fun to see the fowls devour them.
One day when I was out after grass-
hoppers I noticed an insect which had
just alighted on a flower and I im-
mediately gave up the grasshopper
business and went after the insect,
which was new to me, and captured
it. Its color was velvety black and
golden yellow, a handsome insect. No
sooner had 1 caught it in my bare
hand than something happened for
which I was not prepared. It was a
bumblebee and as soon as I captured
him I was stung. I ran home crying
and told my father that I had caught
a new insect which had hot feet. Then
my father explained to me what it was
and told me not to catch any more.
If there is anvbodv who does not

fields and forests on a nature study
trip making observations on animal
life. I collected insects and preserved
them lor winter stud}- when the snow
was so deep I could not get into the
forests. During the summer J col-
lected caterpillars and fed with the
plant foliage that 1 found them eating,
and carried them through their differ-
ent stages which I found very interest-
ing. I have raised various species of
insects from the egg to the adult and
while making observations of this
kind I learned the life histories of the
species.

From my early boyhood I was never
afraid of snakes and during my life
I have captured and handled alive
every species of snake found in Essex

III

*4i :- *.~

t ■

MR. C. A. CLARK AT

Photograph by

know the difference between a bum-
blebee and a grasshopper, let him hold
a grasshopper in his right hand and
a bumblebee in his left hand and he
will quickly learn. About the time
when I discovered wdiat a bumblebee
is we moved to the northern part of
the city near the great Lynn woods
reservation and I then had a large
tract of forest land for nature study.
During my early school days in this
locality I had two half holidays each
week, and then I went out into the

THE CANNON BOULDER
L. A. Wentworth.

County, including the deadly rattle-
snake. During my earl)- school days
I captured snakes without harming
them and brought them home in small
bags made of heavy duck cloth which
I carried with me for that purpose. I
placed them in large boxes covered
with wire screening which made suit-
able places for studying them. But
as I was very young and as my parents
did not like the idea of my catching
snakes and bringing them home alive
for study, thinking I might get bitten,

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

the snakes were killed and I was told
that I had better not catch any more
because it was dangerous. Having the
right idea of catching snakes alive and
not being afraid of them, I continued
to catch them and finally my parents
gave up the idea of interfering. I
have at times gone on a nature trip
without a snake bag and have cap-
tured black racers five feet long and
carried them in my hands for two and
three miles before reaching home. As
I studied deeper into the snake family
I learned that the banded rattlesnake
will usually give us warning by
shaking his rattles when we are near
him. It is safe for people to roam the
woods of Essex County. I go into the
fields and forests with a field glass and
notebook and at the end of each year
I have several interesting notes of true
facts of nature. This is the only way
to obtain the truth.

I have delved deep into nature study
and have received many encomiums
from scientific men which I highly
appreciate. At present I am conduct-
ing a "Nature Experiment Station,"
the only one of its kind in Essex
County, in which I learn many in-
teresting points regarding insects and
reptiles. I would advise all who can
to lake as many nature walks as possi-
ble at all seasons of the year. Such
walks will give health and scientific
knowledge.

During my early school days I also
became interested in the fur bearing
animals, birds and reptiles of Essex
County and have studied them during
every season of the year. When I
see squirrels stripping off cedar bark
1 follow them and bv doing so I learn
whether that species of squirrel builds
in the ground or in a tree and also
what kind of a tree and the location.
These observations also give me cor-
rectly the time of year when squirrels
build their nests and also the kind of
material used by each species. When-
ever I see a fur bearing animal or a
bird walking in the snow I always
study the tracks and by learning the
different tracks get an idea what birds
and animals are seen in the locality.
I have seen all the fur bearing animals
in Essex County and have studied
their habits.

I watch the birds every year. I have
seen a redstart place the first mouthful
of nesting material in a fork of a tree.
Naturalists are seldom lucky enough
to see a bird begin her nest. I have
witnessed it only once. When we see
things of that kind it always makes us
more anxious to make other observa-
tions of a similar nature. I have seen
birds destroy hundreds of injurious
insects in my locality and the feathered
tribe needs all the protection it can
get for it helps greatly to save our or-
chards and forests.

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

Personal Explanatory Note: — Only the adult interests in nature and the business
details of organizing Chapters are represented by this department. Original observa-
tions and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years of age) are referred to my
department ("Nature and Science") in the "St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The
Century Company, New York City. — Edward F. Bigelow.

Some Recent Chapters.

St. John's Hoys' Club Chapter,
Stamford, Connecticut. Officers: E.
Buchanan, president ; C. Cohen, vice-
president; T. .Mathews, recording sec-

retary; W. Means, corresponding sec-
retary; J. Lenord, treasurer. Twenty
members.

Glenbrook Chapter, Glenbrook, Con-
necticut. Officers: C. Lawrence, pres-

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

ident; C. Murphy, vice-president; C.
Lewis, secretary; 1\. Sayre, treasurer.
Twenty-three members.

Friends' Academy Chapter, Locust
Valley, Long Island, New York. Of-
ficers : George Waymouth, president;
Annie llart, vice-president; Louise
Paine, secretary; Douglas Beyea, treas-
urer. Seventeen members.

Springfield Chapter, International V.
M. C. A. Training School, Springfield,
Massachusetts. Officers: S. Fred
Wright, president ; John D. Brook,
vice-president ; E. AY. Benson Malcom-
son, secretary ; II. E. Volley, treasurer.
Nineteen members.

Mount Bluff Chapter, Island Pond,
Vermont. Officers: Mrs. M. T. Sad-
leir, president; Mrs. F. A. Elkins, vice-

A *%

h ■■■■■£&£.

■ s9 Br^1 *• i

i'JmBP^

THE ARBUTUS BUDS AND LEAVES
LAST NOVEMBER

nresident ; Miss Sadie M. King, record-
ing secretary and treasurer; Miss Leta
J. Eaton, corresponding secretary.

THE ARBUTUS AS IT WAS IN BUD LAST
NOVEMBER

Have Been Ready Several Months.

CONTRIBUTION FROM ST. GABRIEL'S

CHAPTER (NO. IOI3), I'KKKSKILL,

NEW YORK.

November 20th, 1908. "We are
mailing to you to-day the specimens
which you asked us to find. We hope
they will serve your purpose."

The specimens accompanying that
letter are illustrated herewith and
show that the leaves and the flower
buds of arbutus were in readiness last
November for blooming this spring.
It takes only a few warm days now
for them to unfold in all their beautv.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

From Eleven to Seventy-seven.

CHAPTER ACTON VALE A, NO. 1 5.

In opening our report, we would
acknowledge how much we have
prized The Guide to Nature. It was
a great opener of the eyes of our mem-
bers. We all appreciate it greatly and
it has increased our knowledge on very
mail}' p< >ints.

( >n our roll we have twenty-one mem-
bers, the youngest being eleven years
old and the oldest seventy-seven.

Although not so much has been
accomplished as was expected, yet a
fair amount of work has been done as
attested by the following" list of sub-
jects touched upon ; and not the least
benefit was from the discussion which
followed the lectures. There was a
little dabbling done in entomology.
Interesting papers were read on the
Polyphemus moth, the Calosoma cali-
dum, the honey and the bumble bee and
the house fly. In zoology the peculiar-
ities of frogs and dogs were brought
before us. In ornithology we had an
account of the indigo-bird. In botany
interesting accounts of the banana and
the cork oak of Spain occupied our
attention. Now beside these we lis-
tened to a description of the .Isle of
Madeira ; also an instructive paper on
banking: and the clearing house and one

"TO SEVENTY-SEVEN"

The Reverend Louis C. Wurtele, Acton Vale,

Quebec, Canada.

on the history of the Ruthelian Chris-
tians of Manitoba entertained us ; we
also were pleased with a short eluci-
dation of the first principles of elec-
tricity, and last but not least was a
dissertation on the Protozoa with the
Amoeba taken as an illustration.

Thus the year has passed away and
we hope to do better in 1909. We all
unite in extending our heartfelt thanks
to our President, Edward F. Bigelow,
for his untiring devotion to the benefit
of The Agassiz Association in general.

LOUIS C. WuRTELE, PRESIDENT.

Acton Yale, Province of Quebec, Canada.

"FROM ELEVEN"
Arthur L. .Moore.

I have been reading the numbers of "The
Guide to Nature" so far issued with a great
deal of interest and I am glad that you have
started such a work and hope you will suc-
ceed with it. I have nearly every number of
the old "Observer" and that with a complete
file of "Science Gossip" furnishes me with
a nature library often consulted. I am only
too glad to l)e able to subscribe for a jour-
nal that will keep the work along up to date.
— F. S. Morton.

THE AGASSIZ ASS< )CIATION

Peculiar Rose Bloom.

BY SUSAN TUCKER, CHENEY, WASHING-
TON. CORRESPONDING MEMBER NO. 2047.

Several years ago I found a rose
growing near a swamp at the base of
a high cliff. The flowers were much
larger than any I had found before.
1 brought a few plants home the next
spring and they have always attracted
much attention. They have had no cul-
tivation except to be thinned out and
sometimes cut back just enough to keep
them in bounds.

For at least three seasons I have
noticed some freak flowers on one bush
that prove an interesting study in ter-
atology.

As I cannot draw well enough to
make illustrations I enclose pressed
flowers to show you what I have seen.

You will see that some sepals have
been transformed into petals. I have
never found a flower with all five sepals
changed but frequently found four.
You will see also that one specimen
shows more buds in a cluster than
is usual with this rose. And one speci-
men may show a stipule that looks like
a petal. My best specimen showing
this dropped the stipules in drying.
One specimen has sharply pointed leaf-
lets while other leaflets on same stem
are rounder than usual.

T enclosed a few petals to show you
how large they are. This is probably
a form of Rosa Xittkani.

The plant from which these branches
were gathered are ten feet high forming
perfect trees with well rounded heads,
if a little care is given in pruning in
the spring.

Ant-Hills: An Informal Investigation.

BY NORBERT WIENER, CORRESPONDING
MEMBER NO. 2073.

The nests of different varieties of
ants show interesting and instructive
variations among themselves. As a
matter of fact, no two ant-hills are pre-
cisely alike, either in structure or ma-
terial. The massive heap of decayed
wood forming the home of the large
ants, both red and black, is incompar-
ably different from the home of the
most minute species under some pro-
tecting rock.

Probably the primitive ancestors of

our present ants did live under rocks.
This seems to be the most elementary
kind of a dwelling found in all antdom.
There is no plan at all to the complex
ramification of interlacing passages
and the pupa compartments are distrib-
uted irregularly throughout the nest.
We merely have a highly complicated
labyrinth of tubes and cells with no
order whatsoever. It seems to be fitted
to the most undifferentiated type of ant,
which, I believe, is the case.

The next advance in architecture
consists in the building of the tunnels
without the protection of a rock, and
the formation of small mounds of waste
earth at the mouth of the tunnels open-
ing directly to the outer air. Here we
have, first, the utilization of the waste
earth (this was not necessary in the
previous stages, on account of the easy
excavation just under the stone) ; sec-
ond, the formation of definite entrance
to the nest and, third, the uniformly
deep and protected situation of the
pupa compartments. The safety of the
nest is thus greatly in excess of that in
the previous case and it is therefore
the more common type of dwelling.

The highest and most interesting
type is the ant-hill proper. This con-
sists of a pile of earth and rotten wood
about a foot in height, carefully ce-
mented together by some secretion of
the ants themselves. The openings to
the outside are well marked apertures
on the walls of the pile, while in no case
do the tunnels extend to the ground be-
neath. The nest is cpiite free from all
intruders that may tunnel in and the
colony gains greatly in its unity. The
pupae are far more safe than in the
other forms, owing to their situation
near the axis of the conical hillock, and
its elevated position makes it a good
place from which its masters may
swoon in exneditions to plunder an-
other nest. In short, this nest is to
the orimitive burrow under a stone as
the hive of the honeybee is to that of
the bumblebee. All ;s indicative of a
higrh decree of specialized instinct, if not
of intelligence', and shows that the ants
who build this nest must be at the cul-
mination of the formican line. Corre-
lated with specialization in instinct

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

goes specialization in structure, and in
this case what do we find? While in
the first case slave making habits are
earl_\- developed and the nest making
habit is in its most primitive form, we
find ants with jaws equally fit for fight-
ing and working, and a short pupa pe-
riod. In the second case, the jaws, al-
though still a useful pair of forceps for
working, arc much better instruments
for fighting. The pupa period, although
short as compared with that of the next
stage, is somewhat lengthened over
that of the first in correspondence with
the decreased labor it has to undergo
and the decreased danger it is under.
In the extremest cases of the third
division, the jaws are utterly useless
for eating, not to speak of working.
Everything in the nest is done by
slaves. The period of pupation is elon-
gated to its utmost, as there is no need
for speed in attaining the self protect-
ing age or for working.

The intelligence, however, would
seem to be greatest in the first variety
of ant, as there is more need for the ca-
pacity of being able to modify actions
by conditions. The idiocy of the highly
developed ant who will die of starva-
tion in the midst of plenty is to be con-
trasted with the easy way in which the
more primitive ants will surmount the
obstacle. While the colonies of the
lowest ants are absolutely self-suffi-
cient, this self-sufficiency is practically
entirely lost in the highest species. In
short, ants vary in their architecture,
structure and habits to an almost incon-
ceivable extent, considering the fact
that they are among the last of insects
to appear, and these variations arc all
correlated zvith one another.

Observations in Delaware Peninsula.

BY S. PRANK AARON, CORRESPONDING

MEMBER NO. 2085 OF Till' AGASSIZ

ASSOCIATION-, REDDEN, DEL.

I am down here in the Delaware
Peninsula for a short time and have
been much interested in making ob-
servations of bird life. The pine and
deciduous woods here are very dense,
the large timber mostly cut out and
small trees, largely sweet gum, coming
up very thickly and the undergrowth

is everywhere crowded with smilax or
greenbrier. This makes a splendid
bird cover both in winter and summer,
the densest portions rarely knowing
intrusion by man and offering ready
means of escape from hawks and owls.
Only the abundant black snake inter-
feres with the bird life considerably.
Man}- birds that winter here also breed
here, as distinguished sometimes by
peculiar songs and notes or by habits.
Of course the juncos, the winter wrens,
the kinglets and the fox and white-
throat ed sparrows disappear to the
North with the coming spring, the
juncos being the last to leave. But
individual black-capped titmice, crest-
ed-titmice, chewinks, (called here
swamp robins) song sparrows and car-
dinal red birds remain here through-
out the year as, of course, do the bob
whites. Within almost a stone's throw
from our house a cardinal makes his
home and I am reasonably sure that
his more modestly clothed wife does
also; within a pine and brush thicket
of several acres in extent and I think
they do not range two hundred yards
away from it. The male has a peculiar
song, the last line of which having
two distinct syllables, both of falling
inflection. The cardinal's song is al-
ways of two lines, the utterances of the
first having notes of rising inflection,
the latter utterances of falling in-
flection, often of two syllables, but
I have never before heard, though fam-
iliar with the bird almost ever since
I knew what birds are. the notes ut-
tered like this. The ordinary song may
be expressed :

"What? what? what? what?

Cheer' cheer' cheer' cheer',"
or varied to :

"What? what? what? what?

Some cheer', some cheer',

some cheer',"
but this bird sings very clearly :

"What? what? what? what?

Stair door', stair door', stair door'."
All last summer he sang this, in late
fall he thus saluted a particularly fine
day. In early February (hiring the
warm days of a big thaw he let out
a few of the same notes and now, in
March, he is at it every day.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

Though not domestic and caring
nothing- for the haunts of man vet
there are few birds more friendly and
less suspicious than the chewink.
Certain of these birds in our thickets
have certain individual traits, others
will act quite differently and by mak-
ing a close observation of this I can
as easily discern the individuals as I
can the various hens in the poultry
yard and almost as well as to pick out
Jones, Smith or Brown from across
the town street. Several of my che-
wink friends have inhabited a thicket
along- a creek-way all last year, are
there now and they will breed there.
Of the tomtits, black-capped and crest-
ed, I cannot feel so snre but I have
tried to get evidence of the migrating
of these birds and I cannot. They go
back and forth in the great woods in
winter and except on bitter, stormv
days, are always hunting and they, with
the downy woodpeckers, another
species that nests here and probably
the same individuals, are alwa}s in
company, typical bird waves but not
migratory. In fact, two or three pairs
of crested-titmice with their high-pitch-
ed "tweeter, tweeter, tweeter," fre-
quent more than elsewhere certain high
woods and roost in the neighboring
thickets winter and summer and may
be always found there ; They also nest
in the immediate vicinity.

1 enclose you a picture of myself which
will tell you more about me than I
can tell yon. This is the way I am
all day. At night my parents put me

Inflates Caterpillars.

REPORT OF WIIJJAM ENGELHART, CORRE-
SPONDING MEMBER 2078. 2121 WEST
42ND, STREET, CLEVELAND, OHIO.

I am twenty years old and have rheu-
matism and have not been able to walk
for about five years, and have not been
able to use my right hand for a year.
The only thing I find I have any pleas-
ure in, is in raising caterpillars and
watching the chrysalids and cocoons
"hatch" out and putting the butterflies
and moths in mounts, and selling some-
times a mount, to get some money to
get some other cocoons or butterflies.
Sometime in 1907 I received some
printed matter from The Agassiz Asso-
ciation which told about being a mem-
ber and I have been wanting to join.

CRIPPLED BY RHEUMATISM, HE
STUDIES NATURE

to bed, where I am till morning. I
am getting a little better and am sat-
isfied if I only have some cocoons or
butterflies or the nice caterpillars.

I will do all 1 can for the association.
I think this coming spring I will be
able to inflate caterpillars perfect, and
I think a great many of the Members
will be glad if they can get one or two
inflated caterpillars of each kind of
butterfly and moth they have in their
collection for a few caterpillars that
they can find plentiful in their locality,,
and also by helping me by adding that
same kind to my collection. Just now
I have not much of anything to do,.
and in reply to your question of help-
ing me I must say you can do nothing
only let me know if I can exchange
some minerals for chysalids and co-
coons and caterpillars when there are
any, as I have a great deal of minerals
and they are of no use to me as I do
not collect minerals.

38 THE GUIDE TO NATURE

Roll Call by Observations. much from the English used as from

REPORT BY GLADYS D. SANBORN OF CHAPTER the originality and the closeness of the

no. 1016, friends' academy, locust observations. The best composition

valley, long island. among those handed in was "A Pecu-

Although our Chapter of the Associ- liar Nest" by Irving Hey I which was

ation is a new one, we know that you a very interesting description of a

will be interested to hear of our meet- woodpeckers nest. Another enter-

mp.g taining article was "An Agassiz

We have been trying to follow your Diary'.' giving the account of the
suggestion that the programmes should (lail.v observations of one of the mem-
be less literary and more from our per- bers. This paper gave rise to the idea
sonal observations, so at the last two of having the roll call answered by
meetings, the roll call has been an- extracts in the form of a diary. This
swered with observations. proposition was received favorably

Mr. Jackson offered a first and by the members and a motion was

second prize for the two best compo- passed to have this our next pro-

sitions which were to be judged not so gramme.

5 The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League 5

BY GEORGE KLINGLE, SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY

Explanation: — The aims of this League are in many respects the same as those
of The Agassiz Association. Therefore it has been proposed that the adult interests be
represented by "The Guide to Nature" and that the League co-operate, or possibly be
affiliated, with The Agassiz Association. — E. F. B.

The first lecture in the interest of the ward all things having life ; its plea for

movement for the protection of nature, existence is found in the propositions

known as The La Rue Holmes Nature that the present is the guardian of

Lovers League, was given in Summit, nature's riches in the future; that

New Jersey, in May 1906, by Mr. we owe it to generations yet to come

William Dutcher, president of the that our guardianship be conscientious.

National Audubon Societies. that wealth in forests, birds, and wild

The movement originated with a flowers, together with other forms of

young naturalist whose life was nature's bounty, be unimpared through

shadowed through regret over dese- our guardianship, as far as may

crated nature, and whose name was be; and again, that through

given the organization, by the Board self restraint, sacrifice for another, the

of Directors, after his premature death, fabric of highest moral nature is built

The La Rue Holmes Nature League up. In the belief that sentiment in be-

is a federated body consisting of a cen- half of nature protection is largely to

tral organization, located at Summit, be won through influence with children

New Jersey, composed of an execu- and youth, League efforts have been

tive board and Directors chosen from largely directed toward the formation

various cities, empowered to create of chapters in schools public, parochial,

chapters located in any State. The and private. Home and neighborhood

League is unique in that its chief aim chapters may be organized by any four

is the propagation of protective senti- children or adults.

men! in behalf of nature; its kindred. The means emploved in creating
and secondary object being the foster- sentiment is found in the distribution
ing of interest in nature study — its of leaflets and pictures; in lectures
introduction into places where hitherto given monthly, or annually, as desired
it has not existed. The League corner- by school principals; in holding month-
stone is the sentiment of kindness to- ly, semi-monthly, or annual meetings;

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

in the writing and reading at meetings

b\ all children doing Mich language-
work, of brief papers on natural history
subjects thereby inducing friendship

for forest, bird and wild flower pres-
ervati< >n.

A bureau of information, through
whom questions regarding1 nature may
be answered, is composed of men and
women, familiar with various branches
of science, who, like all others connect-

ed in any manner with conducting the
work give their services without return
apart from the joy which comes to
every giver who sacrifices self for a
cause.

For the courtesy permitting this
department representing The La Rue
Holmes League work the directors owe
a debt of appreciation to The Guide TO
Nature.

" rr it 11 ii ii il u il 11 lr n n n ii n i> g n n g i

IlTERARY

BIOGRAPHICAL

Quailology. The Domestication, Propaga-
tion, Care and Treatment of Wild Quail
in Confinement. Together with Natural
History Notes, Letters from Breeders
< and a Digest of Game Laws. By Harry
Wallas Kerr. Little Sioux, Iowa: The
Taxiderm Company. (For sale by
Wenz & Mackensen, Yardley, Pennsyl-
vania.)

The author makes this remarkable State-
ment :

"The quail is easily raised, costs very
little to feed, is the healthiest, hardiest,
cleanliest, and most prolific bird of the
poultry yard, free from contagious diseases
and brings a good price on any market."

If this is true, it is a wonder that the
quail has not become a common domesti-
cated bird. The book contains many illus-
trations, good descriptions and contribu-
tions of experiences from various breeders.

One Hundred Lessons in Elementary Agri-
culture. A Manual and Text of Ele-
mentary Agriculture for Rural Schools.
By Aretas W. Nolan, A. B., Professor of
Horticulture, Forestry and Economic
Entomology, West Virginia University.
Morgantown, West Virginia: The Acme
Publishing Company.

The author is an efficient teacher and
horticulturist. He has the right spirit.
Therefore he has made a success of his
work in simplifying in this book the sub-
ject matter, materials and methods usually
presented in text-books of agriculture. The
author is of the opinion that elementary
agriculture should not be taught below
the sixth grade.

An entire chapter with three illustrations
is devoted to the Sachs nutrient tablets as
supplied by "The Guide to Nature." The
book contains much of interest to the gen-
eral naturalist.

Pheasants. Their Natural History and
Practical Management. By W. B. Teget-
meier. London: Horace Cox, "The
Field" Office Bream's Buildings, E. C.
(For sale by Wenz & Mackensen, Yard-
ley, Pennsylvania.)

The natural history of the pheasants,
their food, habits, nesting, etc., are well
presented. The illustrations are attractive
and expressive. One important merit of the
book is that it combines ornithological re-
search with practical experience. Then,
too, it is readable and interesting to any
lover of birds.

Window Gardening. With illustrations from
photographs. By Herman B. Dorner.
Indianapolis, Indiana: The Bobbs-Merrill
Company.

In this book such cultural directions are
given as will enable the inexperienced to
overcome most of the difficulties which arise
in the growing of plants in the window
garden. The directions are equally appli-
cable to the small conservatory. In fact,
about the only criticism that can be made
is that the directions apply too much to the
general and not enough specifically co the
scope indicated by the title of the book. The
illustrations are chiefly of ordinary plants
in pots. It is to be regretted that more was
not shown of special fixtures for window
gardening. For example, why didn't the
author work out and show an attached
outside window conservatory? There is
need of some one to provide such
plans and some one to put them on
the market in various styles at popu-
lar prices. Who will supply "window
greenhouses?" The amateur should have
a source of supply for such fixtures just
as readily as can be purchased bird houses
or chicken coops for the back yard.

4-0

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The Efficient Life. By Luther Gulick, M. D.
New York: Doubleday, Page & Com-
pany.
The chapters of this book were originally
lectures delivered at the School of Peda-
gogy, New York University. They contained
some excellent suggestions for making life
count to the very most in any line of activity.
Most certainly the diligent naturalist needs
to conserve his energy as much as does any
other person, and we are confident this
book contains much of interest to our read-
ers.

Trees of the Northern United States. Their
Study, Description and Determination
for the Use of Schools and Private Stu-
dents. By Austin C. Apgar. New York:
American Book Company.

"The difficulty in tree study by the aid
of the usual botanies lies mainly in the fact
that in using them the first essential parts
to be examined are the blossoms and their
organs. These remain on the trees a very
short time, are often entirely unnoticed on
account of their small size or obscure color,
and are usually inaccessible even if seen.
In this book the leaves, the wood, the bark,
and, in an elementary way, the fruit are
the parts to which the attention is directed;
these all can be found and studied through-
out the greater part of the year, and are
just the parts that must be thoroughly
known by all who wish to learn to recognize
trees."

Out- of -Doors in The Holy Land. Impres-
sions of Travel in Body and Spirit. By
Henry Van Dyke. Illustrated. New
York City: Charles Scribner's Sons.

The author of "Little Rivers" has made
many phases of commonplace out-of-doors
a holy land, by the charming manner in
which he has portrayed and idealized the
beauty and interest of nature. Probably
that fact is accountable for his statement.
"For a long time, with hopefulness and con-
fidence of youth, I dreamed of going to
Palestine."

The two following paragraphs from the
preface, are well worth careful reading and
re-reading. They were written by a natur-
alist who believes in reality, who recog-
nizes a God in His Works, and yet, the au-
thor delicately cautions and suggests that
one may be "rudely shaken" by reality,
may not see aright and thus be disappointed.

"Then, for a long time, in the hardening
strain of early manhood, I was afraid to
go to Palestine, lest the journey should
prove a disenchantment, and some of my
religious beliefs be rudely shaken, perhaps
destroyed. But that fear was removed by
a little voyage to the gates of death, where
it was made clear to me that no belief is
worth keeping unless it can bear the touch
of reality

"If what you read here makes you wish
to go to the Holy Land, I shall be glad;
and if you go in the right way, you surely
will not be disappointed."

The Haunts of the Golden-winged Warbler.

With notes on migration, nest building,
song, food, young, eggs, etc. By J. War-
ren Jacobs. Waynesburg, Pennsylvania:
Independent Printing Company.

This is No. Ill of a series of pamphlets
by the author on his researches in ornith-
ology and oology. The plates are from
photographs by the author and are accom-
panied by proper explanations. The pamph-
let shows the spirit of a true ornithologist.

How much better to study one subject in
this manner than to write yards of eulogies,
emotions and observations on everything in
the heavens above, the earth beneath and
the waters under the earth.

The Freshwater Aquarium and its Inhabi-
tants. By Otto Eggeling and Frederick
Ehrenberg. New York: Henry Holt and
Company.

The present book is the result of the care-
ful collaboration of a professional aquarist
and a very enthusiastic amateur. While the
professional aquarist gives his experiences
collected through a quarter of a century in
an extensive business, offering the best op-
portunity for observing fishes, amphibians
and aquatic plants, both as to their habits
and their merits for the aquarium, the ama-
teur adds the result of his observation in
forest and glen, and his experience under
the often trying home conditions which pre-
vail with the average amateur aquarist.

The Ministry of Beauty. By Stanton Davis.
Kirkham. New York: Paul Elder and
Company.

"Over and above all common necessity is.
the divine necessity of beauty : beauty en-
circling all, back of all, in all, and its.
purpose moral, its perception joy; hence,
if for no other reason, its bearing upon life
and the problem of happiness. As with a
glass we focus the sun's rays, so do the
laws of the universe converge in our daily
thought. We are here under the sway of the
grandest laws and inseparably linked with
the sublime and unutterable, as every drop
of water is hitched to the moon and every
grain of sand tied to the center of the earth.

"To be wise and kind is to enlist the uni-
verse in our behalf, to focus cosmic rays-
of love here in our hearts. Witness then
the Ministry of Beauty drawing us ever
from circumference to center; from blue-
birds and violets and the blossoming apple,
from snowy range and midnight sky and
the expanse of moonlit ocean, to the love
of these to the ultimate recognition of the
nature and purpose of beauty itself, the
perception that beauty is within, that only
to an inner loveliness is the landscape fair,
that to an inner sublimity alone is any out-
ward grandeur.

"From the self-same source have we the
elixir of love divine and the milk of human
kindness, from thence beauty forever flows
to refresh the worlds and to stimulate man
to its recognition."

RECREATION <$» VOL II MAY, 1909 No. 2 fy EDUCATION

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

EXPLANATORY NOTE: — This number is published from a temporary office at 47 Willow Street, Stamford, Con-
necticut, and mailed at the Stamford Post Office as before. This is due to delay in the erection of the Sound
Beach buildings. It is expected that the next issue will be published and mailed at Sound Beach.

mmimt

■

<//\, >*

" Exquisitely beautiful and unlike anything else we have is the first white water-lily "

The floral emblem of the AA.
Photograph by H. M. Woodward

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. TEMPORARY OFFICE: 47 WILLOW ST., STAMFORD, CONN.

Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. .... Single Copy, 10 Cents
Entered as second-class matter, April 6, 1908, at the Post Office at Stamford, Ct., under the Act of March 3, 1879

A COPY OF

"PHOTOGRAPHIC AMUSEMENTS"

FREE

With a NEW SUBSCRIPTION to

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Regular price of " PHOTOGRAPHIC AMUSEMENTS," - $1.00

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Total, - - $2.50

Anyone sending us $1.50 will receive a copy of " Photographic

Amusements' FREE, and a year's subscription to

"THE PHOTOGRAPHIC TIMES."

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Established 1838
THE

Phrenological Journal

and Science of Health

is widely known in America and
Europe, having been before the read-
ing world over 70 years and occupying
a place in literature exclusively its
own, viz., the study of "Human Na-
ture" in all its phases, including Phre-
nology, Physiognomy, Ethnology, Phy-
siology, etc., together with the "Science
of Health," and no expense will be
spared to make it the best publication
for general circulation, tending al-
ways to make men better Physically,
Mentally and Morally. Parents and
teachers should read the "Journal,"
that they may better know how to
govern and train their children.
Young people should read the 'Jour-
nal" that they may make the most of
themselves. It has long met with
the hearty approval of the press and
the public.
Terms $1.00 and 5s. a year, 10c. a number
Canada $1.12.

Address

Fowler & Wells Co.

Phrenologists and Publishers
24 East 22d Street, New York

REDUCED IN PRICE
BUT NOT IN VALUE

€[ The reduction in price of The Guide to
Nature makes it possible for us to offer a still
more attractive combination price. We now
offer

THE AMERICAN BOTANIST
and THE GUIDE TO NATURE

ONE FULL YEAR FOR $1.40

•J Everybody knows T/te American Botanist
or ought to; it is a great favorite with all
lovers of outdoors. The articles are untechnic
and yet strictly scientific.

CJ THE FERN BULLETIN may be substitut-
ed for The American Botanist in the above
combination without change in price or may
be added to it for 50c additional. The Fern
Bulletin and The American Botanist sent one
year for $1 25. Send for samples.

W. N. CLUTE & COMPANY

JOLIET, ILLINOIS

-*ivsS~

PUBLISHERS NOTICES.

Do You Know "Children's Gardens?"
You have heard of children's gar-
dens, and perhaps have thought that
they are any sort of gardens made by
any kind of children in any haphazard
way but there is a right way and a
wrong way; there is art in it. Write
Henry Griscom Parsons, 29 West
Fifty-sixth Street, New York City,
for particulars of the road to the right
way.

For High Grade Collies.

If there is a more graceful, good-
natured and attractive breed of dogs
than the right strain of collie, then I
do not know what it is. If there is a
better place to buy it than of William
C. Hunter, Chambersburg, Pennsyl-
vania, then I don't know where it is.
Send to him for particulars — and get
the puppy.

The Price of Subscription.
At the beginning of Vol. II the sub-
scription price of The Guide to
Nature was reduced from one dollar
and fifty ($1.50) cents to one ($1.00)
dollar; the charge was made to bring
in more money, not less ; to reach more
people, not the same number. The
magazine cannot be produced, even at
the mere cost of mechanical work, for
one ($1.00) dollar a year unless the
subscription list is, as was stated, more
than doubled. It was taken for grant-
ed from the many complimentary
letters that were received that all our
subscribers were pleased and would
renew at one dollar and fifty ($1.50)
cents. To make it easy to secure
another subscription, the price for two
sent at the same time was only twenty-
five cents (25c) cents additional ; that
is, two volumes for one dollar and
seventy-five ($1.75) cents and addition-
al subscriptions at seventy-five (75c)
cents each per volume. Most of our
subscribers have understood this ar-
rangement but some have sent onlv

the dollar. On that basis the magazine
cannot keep its present high standard.
Please secure and send additional sub-
scriptions. Only a little effort means
much for the good of the cause.

Delay in Publication.

We admit that we are one month
behind time. It should be the June
number that is now published. This
delay is due primarily to complications
in the printing office that we are prom-
ised will be remedied soon, and second-
arily to the great disadvantages under
which the editorial work has been done
since preparations to move working
buildings and contents were com-
menced about the middle of February.

With the printing office blocked —
in troubles of their own — at several in-
tervals, on all work, on The Guide to
Nature; with books and apparatus
stored in a barn and other places for
the past two months; with editorial
and stenographic work done in a small
temporary office ; with, well, but what
is the use of reciting to you further
troubles ! We think enough has been
said to merit your kind forbearance in
the delavs.

Flope is dawning. The printers have
promised to remove obstacles and in-
formation comes, as these lines are
written, that the new, portable, office
building has been shipped from the
factory.

The working laboratory and other
buildings have gradually evolved order
out of chaos.

Cheer up ! The sun will shine yet
and we will forget that it was cloudy.

We like your magazine very much indeed.
-F. G. Kenesson.

"The Guide to Nature" is a pleasure and
an inspiration. — Sister M. Berenice.

Every paragraph in your monthly will be
read with enthusiasm. — Amelia H. Benja-
min.

ADVERUSEMKNT.

Successful Student of Pigeons.

A thing' that is worth doing at all
is worth not only doing well but for
a prolonged time. Since he was a boy,
several years ago, Air. William E. But-
ler of Glenbrook, Connecticut, has well
devoted attention to fantail pigeons.
He loves them and he studies them ;
therefore he has excelled. He does
not keep the "two for a cent" kind nor
even the "one dollar and fifty cents
each ;" but if you want fantails really
worth having, he can supply you.
Darwin set all students of nature a
good example in his studies of pigeons.
They afford good "available ornitho-
logy-"

Air of Quiet Dignity and Comfort.

It would be difficult to find in all
New York City a hotel that can equal
the Hotel Cumberland in good location
(southwest corner of Broadway and
Fifty-fourth Street) and in quiet, dig-
nified, comfortable attractiveness. It
is up to date in every respect and de-
cidedly pleases those who like a hotel
that is popular and yet not filled with
a boisterous rabble. Just step within
the door and it is difficult to realize
that the location is near the theatre;
district of Times Square. One feels
as if he were on a quiet, luxurious es-
tate in the country. To my mind none
of the other much more pretentious
hotels can equal it, surely not in the
estimation of any one who "'oes to a
hotel for food and rest — for home.

A Bee Keepers' Mecca.

Very few subjects are better adapted
to the modern nature studv idea than
bee keeping. For one thing it can be
pursued with the greatest possible
intensity of interest at home and, in
the case of an invalid, right inside the
house if necessary. Moreover, it has
a rich and interesting literature sur-
passing that of any other animal — the
horse or dog not excepted. The re-
quirements for study are not expen-
sive; in fact, the cost of an experi-
mental apiary is well within the means
of an ordinary laborer or mechanic.

In Europe, more particularly in Ger-
man}', teachers are supposed to possess
a knowledge of bees and their ways.
The reason is obvious. The teacher
who possesses an actual working
knowledge of bees has an insight into
the life history of insects in general
which is difficult to secure in any other
way. For him (or her) the words,
larva, pupa, imago, have a true and
definite meaning such as a person who
depends on books alone cannot aspire
to. Not only so, but the habits of bees
are far better understood than those of
any other insect and a working knowl-
edge of their transformations is suf-
ficient to give the one who has it a
general idea of the habits and mode of
life of many other insects, as the bee
is the most highly organized of all.

Every cult has its Mecca and bee
culturists are no exception to the gen-
eral rule. At present their Mecca is

FACTORY OF THE A. I. ROOT COMPANY, MEDINA, OHIO

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Ill

Medina, Ohio, where are situated the vention which greatly simplified the
workshops and apiaries of the A. I. whole problem of handling' and keep-
Root Company, which has fitted out ing bees in a captive state. Bee keep-
many an aspiring- bee student. Not far ers the world over are indebted to old
away from Medina is the old Mecca of Father Langstroth, as he is lovingly
bee keepers, Oxford, Ohio, where lived termed by bee keepers. His book on

SOME STORAGE AND WORKING BUILD INGS

and dwelt the sage of apiculture, the
late Reverend L. L. Langstroth who by a
careful study of bees evolved a system
of bee keeping that has created an im-
portant industry out of what was for-
merly a fascinating hobby and nothing
more.

Mr. Langstroth was a true nature
study man, a real companion to such
men - as Alexander Wilson, Thoreau,
John James Audubon and John Bur-
roughs. Lie studied bees simply be-
cause he had to. Nature would not let
him do anything else though, like Jan
Swammerdam, his great predecessor,
he had to give something to the claims
of theology. Unconsciously he gave
to the whole race of bee keepers an in-

bees is a classic well worth careful
reading and study even now and likely
to be all down the ages.

The Root establishment at Medina is
now the modern Mecca and with good
reason. It is the only place in America
where one may view the whole bee in-
dustry at a glance. Moreover it is the
handiest place for a bee student to get
a fairly good insight into the pros and
cons of bee culture. Many teachers'
organizations have made a pilgrimage
to the Root establishment just to add
another fact or two to their repertoire
and it would be rather strange if a
teacher did not learn a few facts on
such a pilgrimage.

In the first place there is an apiary

EDWARD F. BIGELOWr INSTRUCTING CLASS AT MEDINA

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A SOBER LOVE OF NATURE UNDERLIES AND REINFORCES LOVE TO GOD AND LOVE TO MAN! THESE SENTI-
MENTS BELONG TOGETHER ; DISSOCIATED THEY ARE IMPARED. NO RELIGIOUS TEACHER CAN AVOID DEALING
SOMETIMES WITH THE RELATIONS OF MAN AND GOD TO NATURE! FOR THESE SUBJECTS ARE INTENSELY
INTERESTING ALIKE TO SIMPLE AND TO CULTIVATED MINDS. — Charles William Eliot, LL. D , President of
Harvard University,

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

MAY, 1909

No. 2

OUTDOOR WoRLD

Nature at Coronado Beach

BY JESSIE PORTER WHITAKER, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

EAUTIFUL for situation,
a joy to the lover of nat-
ural scenery, is Coronado
with her picturesque ho-
tel embowered in tropical
foliage ; Point Loma,
thrusting forth a massive
bulwark against the sunset sky; with
the tent city on the Silver Strand,
stretching away southward, washed on
one side by beating surf while on the
other lies the still blue bay and beyond
are the mountain peaks of Old Mexi-
co, gleaming red in the rays of the setting
sun. In spite of her beauty, Coronado
could scarcely be compared, as a field for
nature study, with La Jolla, so charm-
ingly described in an issue of The) Guide;
to Nature; as "The Nature Lover's
Beach."

The observant eye finds here, how-
ever, much in "common-place nature
of uncommon interest." There are no
fascinating rock pools in which to
search for sea anemones but low tide

reveals some of the huge rocks of the
breakwater plastered with masses of
tiny bits of shell and pebbles which,
when touched, show by a quick con-
tractile movement that these are nurs-
eries of babv anemones snugly hidden
underneath their concealing blanket.

On the sand lies an object which
suggests by its shape a blue lotus blos-
som set in a large finger bowl. Its
semi-transparent substance shows it
to be a jellyfish — an inappropriate
name for it belongs to the Zoophytes or
animal plants and resembles a fish
only in the fact that it can swim. The
central organ, called the manubrium,
is, in this species, a Muted mass, some-
thing like petals, standing upright in
the bowl-shaped disk which curves
over at the edge giving the whole the,
appearance of a semi-transparent
flower. We posed one of these on the
breakwater and attempted to take its
photograph but it was too small in
comparison with its surroundings and

THE GUIDE TO NATURE,

'POINT LOMA, THRUSTING FORTH A

MASSIVE BULWARK AGAINST A

SUNSET SKY

we succeeded only in getting' an excel-
lent likeness of the rocks of the break-
water.

As we stroll along the beach its
smooth surface is broken by a long
curved row of little projections sug-
gestive of ruins — of a ship or of some
marine animal? Examination proves
them part of a long curved spinal col-
umn ; we counted fourteen vertebrae
on the portion protruding from the sand.
What strange, prehistoric creature
has lain buried beneath these sands
to be uncovered by the raging, tear-
ing surf? Development of our photo-
graph developed also the fact that dur-
ing the preceding summer a whale
was washed ashore on this coast and
ils bones still lie there to be uncovered
and buried again by the ever shifting-
sands.

At times the beach, hard as a floor
and glittering with a substance that
looked like flakes of gold, seemed ab-
solutely bare of shells but we followed
the receding tide far out where the
sands were wet and there, thrusting
up vvedge-shaoed ends, were multi-
tudes of the little Donax. When the
shell is dead it lies open like a pair of
dainty wings upon the sand but these
were alive, tightly closed and stand-
ing upright with the small point of the
wedge thrust into the sand while the
little animal within sent out tiny feel-

ers, seeking its recurrent cold bath in
those tumbling waves. It almost
seemed a cruelty to gather the little
things and take them home to be
plunged into a bath of scalding water
but such is the fate of the beautiful.
These rainbow colored, dainty mark-
ed jewels, suggestive of moss agate,
can be formed into a beautiful mosaic
to frame a picture.

The Floridian and Californian
species of this shell are so similar that
Augusta Foote Arnold says, 'The
increasing number of similar species
being found on the Atlantic and Pa-
cific sides of Central America points
to the existence of a water way be-
tween the two oceans at no very re-
mote geological period."

Coronado is not considered an es-
pecially good beach for shells, yet we
always find the dainty pearl-white
wings of Macoma secta, so thin and
frail that they must be handled like
eggshells. Large specimens of the
Trochidae, "turban" or "topshells,"
are gathered here ; of pyramidal shape
their rough, brown epidermis makes
them appear unattractive at first but
they are lined with mother-of-pearl
and' capable of taking exquisite polish.
Those we gather often show little pro-
jecting" knobs — already polished by
the rough treatment of the surf —
gleaming with pearly hues.

"AN EXCELLENT LIKENESS OF THE
ROCKS OF THE BREAKWATER'

NATURE AT CORONADO liEACH.

surroundings which it mulched. We
felt compelled to do violence to the
evident wishes of this strange creature
by investigating it, when it proved to
be a toad resembling a lizard thatched
with dry chips and furnished with
sticks for horns.

From toads to cats is a far cry, yet
when we encountered a cat with a
short, crooked tail on the streets of
Coronado, we promptly accepted his
owner's offer to hold him while we
took his picture, for a rabbit-tailed cat
struck us as an uncommon object.
This cat is descended from a line of
ancestors with similar caudal append-

"A LONG CURVED ROW OF LITTLE
PROJECTIONS"

Most interesting among shells are
the Pholas or "angels'-wings" of which
a number of species are found on the
Atlantic Coast and one on this beach.
The sculpturing, like pinions, on these
wdiite, winged-shaped shells is quite
suggestive. A furrow divides the
valve into two areas, only the upper,
or pointed one, being sculptured.
Pholas is characterized by a reflex
curve on the upper margin of the valve
and by a long, rib-like tooth inside
which curves out almost to the center
of the valve.

In spite of our portrait attachment
the kodak did not bring out clearly
these details, but the horned toad that
slipped unawares into the foreground
while waiting his turn to have his
"picter took" furnishes a suggestive
contrast to "angels'-wings." As for
the cribbage board, it is not an object
in commonplace nor uncommonplace
nature but serving a useful purpose as
a pedestal.

The horned toad is a most inter-
esting and intelligent little creature.
Our first encounter with him was on
a dusty path bordered with vegetation
brown and sere. Of a sudden a clus-
ter of dry twigs proceeded to peram-
bulate across the path in a manner
wdiich so astonished us that we stood
still. Whereupon the bunch of dry
grass also stood still, having reached

ages.

This is not a bird article, Mr. Editor,
but an account of nature life on Coron-
ado Beach would be incomplete with
no mention of the many interesting
varieties of sea birds. The sands are
ploughed in spots by the long, sickle-
shaped bills of the curlews ; over the
brown masses of kelp trip the black
turnstones, probing with their shovel-
shaped bills for food ; flocks of sand-
erlings, their tiny feet flying with a
precision suggestive of mechanical
tovs, chase the tide and run back in a

THE GULLS AND TERNS ARE SOARING
AND DIVING"

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

THE SPANISH BIGHT
"The marsh which fringes it is interesting"

game of tag- with the waves as if for
the pure fun of the race.

Out at sea the gulls and terns are
soaring and diving, the latter easily
distinguished by the bill pointing
downward "like a huge mosquito," as
Coues says, while that of the gull
points forward on the plane of his
body. The terns, with long, slender
wings and graceful, circling flight,

deserve their title of "sea swallows."
The black cormorant or "shag," with
long neck and snake-like head, flies
low over the water. The brown peli-
cans are usually in companies like
soldiers, soaring or napping their
great wings in unison with military
precision. When they break ranks
and indulge in fishing, there is a great
splash as the huge beak strikes the
water. The enormous bulk disappears
beneath the surface to rise and sail
away triumphant, if a thieving gull be
not at hand to relieve him of the catch.

The wild dance of the spray as the
surf dashes against the rough rocks of
the breakwater tempts to a walk. along
the boulevard to the Spanish bight.
The marsh which fringes it is inter-
esting as the home of a lone fisherman
who stalks in slow dignity along its
borders, keeping a watchful eye for
poachers on his preserves. Now and
then he wades out into deeper water
and stands motionless, his convenient
spear poised in readiness for unwary
fish. At the approach of an intruder
he lifts his great gray wings and sails
away.

A contrast to the sand-hill crane is
a tiny dweller in the marsh who makes
known her presence in a sharp scold-

'WATCH THE HUGE GREEN WALL RISE WITH SLOW, MAJESTIC SWELL"

THE CAMHRA.

ing voice, characteristic of her family.
There she is — the lule wren climbing
that dry brown reed with saucy tail
perked up and bright eye peering with
open curiosity and disapproval of our
presence.

The long beach between the sea and
the Spanish bight, lying clear and calm
in the sunlight, stretches to North
Island beyond which is the entrance to
San Diego harbor. The crash of the
breakers upon the cobblestones is fol-
lowed by a volley of detonations ri-

valling the echoes from the target prac-
tice at Fort Roseerans on the sunny
sloprs of Point Loma across the bay.
Stand upon this beach, watch the huge
green wall rise with slow, majestic
swell and sweep smoothly forward to
break with the thundering roar of a
cataract and exclaim with the Psalm-
ist ; "Let the sea roar and the full-
ness thereof — Let the floods clap their
hands — For the sea is I r is and He
made it."

A Gorgeous Display of Nature's Tinsel.

Remarkable photographic studies of foliage
of frozen fog or cloud.

BY WM. M. HEINEY, CROMWELL, INDIANA.

As the clouds pile and bank one
above the other against the sky it re-
quires some stretch of the imagination
on the part of the average person

to realize that they are only masses of
fog floating far above the earth. Proof
of this fact is not easily found, but
some persons living high in the
mountains occasionally have oppor-
tunities to see fogs that reach up into
the sky and become clouds.

If one were to ascend from the sea
level straight up for one and one quar-

"ALL IN BLOOxM IN FEBRUARY."
This is "snapped" on the morning of the sixth day, just as the sun is breaking
through the clouds in the southeast. The clouds have lifted but are still clinging to
the mountain top to the northwest while lower down in the canon beyond and to the
right they are still resting on the lowlands.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

AN ELM BEFORE THE WHITE FOLIAGE

HAD ATTAINED ITS GREATEST

DENSITY

ter miles on a cloudy February day,
he would pass through the clouds
much as we move about through the
fog of a very foggy day and would ex-

perience much of the same atmos-
pheric conditions as are in the pictures
herewith shown.

While from the lower earth regions
clouds have the appearances of dense
masses, when one is moving through
them they are but a dismal smoky
mist. It is not an uncommon sight in
the high mountain valleys to look off
on the distant foot hills and see the
fleecy clouds above dragging their
feathery tails over the hillsides and
tree tops, much as we see the shadows
of clouds noiselessly sweeping along
over the meadows and grainfields of
the lowlands. This is when the evi-
dence becomes conclusive — when the
dragging tail of fog is identical with
the cloud.

It is the sight of this mist on the
mountain side becoming the ordinary
white cloud as we observe it continu-
ing" higher up until the blue sky above
instead of the green mountain slope
beyond becomes its background, that
convinces us that clouds and fogs are
like conditions of the atmosphere, only
viewed with different settings.

As it is not often that atmospheric
conditions remain constant for several
days, so it is unusual for clouds to con-
tinue at the same height for any con-

OX THE PLAYGROUND UNDER THE FROST BURDENED TREES

THE CAMERA.

POSING FOR THEIR PICTURE

The white spots on the ground are pebbles

covered with frost.

siderable time. Persons living in the
mountains even do not often experience
such conditions as will clothe the
branches of trees in such a foliage of
frost as the accompanying" photo-
graphs show. These pictures were
secured in Northern New Mexico at
an elevation of sixty-six hundred feet
in the month of February, after the
town had been bathed in the north-
ward drifting clouds for five days. It
will be observed that the limbs of these
trees appear much like those of some
common evergreens, with the spiney
leaves one and one-half to two inches
long- — frost crystals two inches long!
A foliage the heaviest they ever bore
and white as snow can be — everywhere
and on everything! No work of art
could have been so pretty and all the
artists of all the ages cotild not have
delved a decoration so vast, so univer-
sal. It would not shake off, and we
lived there day after day for five days,
retiring on the evening of the first day
feeling that we had never experienced
such beauty of nature. But the second
day was better. The third it had in-
tensified and the fourth and fifth days
;grew in beauty as the frost crystals

extended themselves, and we wondered
when the glory of God in this moun-
tain retreat would cease — when this
sacred white verdure could grow no
denser. But on the sixth day it had
attained its maturity. It was one of
those unusual developments of nature
that abhors the sunshine. An hour of
golden beams of a bright morning and
the crystal leaflets had spent their
freezing summer and had found their
autumn. They lav as drabbled snow
beneath the now blackened limbs that
had borne them. Another hour and
they had mingled with the dust; they
had done their part to make mud.

In less than a week even the mem-
ory of this marvelous beauty had faded
and but for the few "snap shots"-
memory's archive the most gorgeous
display of nature's tinsel that I ever
beheld would have been forgotten.

WHEN THE CLOUDS OF FOG WERE

STILL LOW, SLIGHTLY OBSCURING

DISTANT OBJECTS

5©

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A COTTONWOOD BEARING ITS BURDEN
OF THE BEAUTIFUL

This was a strange phenomenon — a
temperature to continue in a mountain
region for five days just cold enough
to reduce the atmospheric moisture to
frost and still warm enough to prevent
the clearing of the atmosphere. It
must have been about the condition as
when snow forms in the clouds. It
may be explained, however, by several
conditions of topography- Our lo-
cation was on the south-east slope of
the mountain near where a canon from
the north-west opened out into a valley
sloping to the southeast. Up this val-
ley came the winds, warmed and sat-
urated, from the warmer regions be-
low. As these winds crept up our
slope they found a temperature just
right to reduce the moisture to pre-
cipitation and after the first frosty
night the limbs of the trees remained
slightly colder — merely freezing — than
the newly and constantly arriving, sat-
urated atmosphere from the southeast.
On the sixth night the temperature
went low enough to clear the air of
the water particles and the following
morning the sun poured over the east-
ern mesa on to one eastern sloping
mountain side and the disaster to the

previously described grandeur re-
sulted.

The unfortunate feature of these
pictures — darkness in all but one — is
the result of exposure having been
made when the fog was too dense for
proper light. The light picture was taken
from a north window just as the sun
appeared in the southeast ; but before
the cloud or fog had yet been dissipat-
ed. It is seen clinging to the mountain
top to the northwest and lower down
in the mouth of the canon to the right
and beyond the mountain that pene-
trates the retreating mist.

Amateur Snap of a Young Robin.

The camera was a 5 x 7 Kodak ; the
lens, a Zeiss Tessar, to which was fit-
ted a specially made portrait attach-
ment ; and this combination was used
wide open. From the original negative
there was made a positive on glass.
From this positive another negative
was made on a 5 x 7 plate with the
robin enlarged to about two thirds
life size, and the useless foreground
and back ground cut off.

A GOOD SNAP SHOT OF A YOUNG ROBIN

MINERALOGY.

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T-TVTnrjrryTyvy^rrvY-^^^ r-ft i^yrriVTnrvyanrwrTTr.nriv-^^

MINERALOGY

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. ^VAVAVAVXVAVJ.yAVAVAVAYAY/>YAYAYAY\YAYAY^YAVAVAVA.VAVAVAVAVr7T .

Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

On a New Cinnabar.

The illustration given below shows
two examples of the most beautiful and
remarkable cinnabar ever discovered.
Strange to say it is a heathen; that is,
it is what Mark Twain would call a
"heathen Chinee." It was discovered
in Wanshanchang (Hamlet of Ten
Thousand Hills,) Tungyen Prefecture,
Province of Kweichow, China. Rather
a lengthy locality for this beautiful
mineral but it is deserving of it.

The crystals are a bright, ruby-red
color, from translucent to transparent,
and in form are ordinary and interpene-
trating twins. The matrix is a pure
white quartz, and as these crystals oc-
cur in cavities with quartz crystals, you
can imagine the beauty of these speci-

mens. Like all good things they are
scarce, probably two dozen all told.
With the exception of a half-dozen
which are on exhibition at the office of
Mr. A. H. Petereit, 81 and 83 Fulton
Street, New York City, they are scat-
tered among the leading universities
and mineral collectors.

Cinnabar is found in other localities
in China, in Spain and at two localities
in California, but in no instance has it
ever approached the rare beauty of
these crystals. The illustration gives
the exact size. A cordial invitation is
extended to all readers of this maga-
zine to call on Mr. Petereit and see
these remarkable soecimens. As the
mines from which these were taken are
now filled with water and no more can

THE NEW CINNABAR
From A. H. Petereit, New York City.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

be secured, it would be well to take ad-
vantage of this opportunity to see these
and other rare things seldom seen even
in museums.

Tubular Concretions of Iron.

BY HOWARD R. GOODWIN, PHILADELPHIA,
PENNSYLVANIA.

On the west bank of the Pensauken
Creek, near North Pennsville, New-
Jersey, is a large hill of sand which
contains considerable iron ore of the
variety known as limonite. This ore
has formed a conglomerate of small
pebbles and sand which takes some
curious forms.

Part of the formation consists of
sheets or strata more or less con-
torted, and part of tubes or pipes of
various length and thickness.

The specimens illustrated average
seven inches in length by three inches
in diameter, the double tubes being of
common occurrence. Some of the tubes
taken out at the time of my visit to the
locality were over three feet long and
full}' ten inches in diameter, with
walls one inch in thickness.

After getting out the tubes, the
sand in the interior, which is much
lighter in color than the material sur-
rounding them, is easily removed with
a sharpened stick.

The curious specimens are rust
brown in color and make an inter-
esting, if not beautiful, addition to
the cabinet.

In Clinton Township, Vinton

County, Ohio, is a sandstone that con-
tains spherical concretions which, re-
leased by the decomposition of the
sandstone, roll down to the foot of the
hill where they resemble a lot of rusty
cannon balls.

Limonite, or brown hematite, is an
abundant ore in the United States and
contains, when pure, about two thirds
its weight of iron.

The varieties known as brown and
yellow ochre are common materials
for paint wdiile bog ore, an earthy
variety usually containing considerable
phosphorus derived from organic
sources, is said to afford a good iron
for castings.

Gothite, turgite and melanosiderite
are other varieties recognised by min-
eralogists.

Three Bronx Localities for Stilbite.

BY EDWIN W. HUMPHREYS.

A recent examination of the rock
in an excavation back of the Museum
Building in the Botanical Gardens,
Bronx Park, New York City, revealed
some good specimens of straw-colored,
though in parts it was white or nearly
white, stilbite. The crystals occur in
more or less perfect sheaf-like aggre-
gations. The mineral is somewhat
weathered and crumbles easily.

The finding of stilbite here recalled
to mind two other localities in the
Borough of the Bronx at which stil-
bite has been found. They are Third
Ave., near 179th St., and Bryant Ave.,
near 170th St. At the former place,
the stilbite was similar in color and
form to that found in Bronx Park.
In some parts it was coated with iron.
Some of it, moreover, was more trans-
lucent and of a darker yellow color.
This darker stilbite was not arranged
in sheaf-like groups, the crystals,
though crowded together, rose from
the enclosing rock as individuals. At
the Bryant Ave. locality the stilbite
was of a reddish brown color and oc-
curred in flat rosettes. It must have
been very abundant here, for a teams-
ter said that he had carted away and
dumped loads of that "stuff." At all
three localities the rock in which it
was found was the schist.

MINERALOGY.

The Passing of the Drawer Cabinet
Case.

BY CIIAS. H. PENNYPACKER, WEST
CHESTER, PA.

A half a century ago, when my in-
terest in mineralogy began, the ap-
proved method of housing a collection
was a cabinet of drawers and the trim-
ming and adjusting of the specimens
was made with the design of placing
them in such drawers. Many a good
crystal, many a fine specimen, were
sacrificed to the drawer habit.

When George J. Brush of New
Haven was assembling his collection
of crystals some of the best to be had
were turned over by him to the Yale
College collection because they were
too large for his purposes. As his
collection increased he saw the mis-
take he had made in not providing a
large open case for his large speci-
mens.

When Clarence S. Bement of Phila-
delphia concluded to sell his collection
the drawer specimens were magnifi-
cent and exceedingly choice ; but the
large open-case specimens, as they
brilliantly shone through the glass
fronts, were decisive factors in the dis-
position of that remarkable cabinet.

Dr. Spencer of Tarrytown, New
York, lined a room with open cases
containing large specimens of quartz
crystals from the Ellenville Copper
Mine in Ulster County, New York.
The effect was dazzling, and his friends
and neighbors called it "The diamond
room."

In the early sixties there was a
boarding school at Newburgh, New
York, kept by Mr. Reed. His col-
lection of minerals was contained in
two glass show-cases located in his
parlor. They were all large specimens,
showy and brilliant, and produced a
marked impression upon his callers,
who happened to be there placing their
daughters at school. Mr. Reed was
certainly a gentleman of wonderful at-
tainments and such excellent taste, all
of which comment was produced by
the sight of these brilliant soecimens.

In self defence of the distemoer of
natural science the collector of min-
eralogical Specimens will surely ex-
hibit his treasures in open cases. The

observers will not consult the label
unless they have exactitude allied with
curiosity. In such event the assem-
blage of mineral specimens will adorn
the reception room of the household
and contribute to the gayety and de-
light of visiting friends. They will
not be consigned to the limbo of a
third story back room but will have
the post of honor and the public station
in the parlor.

After the mortuary exercises of the
collector have been concluded and his
family turn about to dispose of his
collections they will find that the large,
showy crystals and the attractive
masses of crystallization will favor-
ably impress the trustees of a college,
which may desire to strengthen its
examples in natural science. Though
the collector may have a scientific mind
yet it should always be on business
bent. We must look forward as well
as backward. We must consider the
changed and changing conditions as
they are about us.

A few weeks ago H. D. Miller of
Plainville, Conn., was surprised be-
cause I had shipped him several speci-
mens of Calcite of Museum size and I
cheerfully explained to him that tastes
in the arrangement of a Cabinet had
decidedly changed within a score of
years and that it was our duly to keep
pace with the ideas of improvement and
the improvement of ideas.

Tourmalines can be extracted from
a matrix by soaking in cold water and
tapping the crystals lightly with a
hammer.

The cataracts of the Nile are due to
granite veins which the river, while
working a way through the sandstone,
has been unable to destrov or remove.

The various colors in tnrquoise are
due to copper oxide while the presence
of iron tends to give a greenish tint
to the mineral.

From one ton of ordinary gas coal
may be produced fifteen hundred
pounds of coke, twenty gallons of
ammonia water and one hundred and
forty pounds of coal tar.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Mineralogical Review.

BY C. ROE GARDINER, 1 6/ HOOPER ST.,

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

( )n Chlormanganokalite, A New
Vesuvian Mineral, with notes on
Some of the Associated Minerals.
By H. J. Johnston-Davis, M.D., B.
Sc, M. R. C. S.. F. G. S.; and
L. J. Spencer, M. A., F. G. S. Min.
Mag., XV, 54.
This new Vesuvian mineral, found
amongst the products of eruption, was
previously described in "Nature" of
May 31, 1906. A large amount of
Chlormanganokalite was discovered on
breaking up two large masses of ma-
terial that had been ejected from this
volcano during an eruption.

An analysis on some of this new
mineral gave the following results:

K Mn CI Me Na SOr H2O Insoluble
36.34 11.52 40.13 .04 0.38 0.81 1.52 0.71 = 99-4

The calculated percentage compo-
sition in which allowance is made for
the presence of admixed sylvite corre-
sponds to the probable formula 4KCI.
M11CI2.

On Determination of Mineral Consti-
tution Through Recasting of
Analysis. By Alexis A. Julien, Ph.
D., Annals N. Y. Acd. So., XVIII,
129; April, 1908.

This interesting paper gives food
for thought in regard to the chemical
composition and formulas assigned to
many of the minerals in our text-books
on mineralogy. All who are familiar
with minerals as viewed through a
polarizing microscope know that
homogeneity in crystals is rarely if
ever seen, and in probably a great
man}-- cases where analyses of min-
erals have been printed in literature
these specimens were never examined
by the microscope and consequently
it was nearly impossible to allow pro-
perly for foreign impurities.

The following is an example of the
method used in recasting the analysis
of a mineral :

"Thermophyllite."
From Hopansuo, Finland. Average
of three analysis by Arppi, Hermann
and Northcote, with the formulas.

(RO.3R2O3) 2SiOs + 2H2O and (MgO.HO) + MgO.SiO.s

Hypothetical

Ferric

Ferrous

Constituents

Silica

Alumina

Oxide

Magnesia

Potassa

Soda

Water

Total

41.93

4.04

0.66

1.40

37.29

1.06

1 54

n 62

= 99-54

Phlogopite

11.79

4-04

0.66

8.85

iio6

1.54

2.72

= 30.66

(residual)

Antigorite

29.82

1-40

28.44

8.90

= 68.56

Hyalite

0.32

In association with this mineral were
found sylvite, halite and hematite.
( >n Strtiverite and Its Relation to II-

menorutile. By G. T. Prior, M.

A., D. Sc, F. G. S.; and Dr. F.

Zambonini. Mix. Mac,., XV, 78.
Struverite occurs on the Prano dei
Lavonchi and in other localities on the
Eastern slope of the mountain across
which runs the road from Vasco to the
All) Marco. The mineral is found in
pegmatite as a rare accessory constit-
uent.

Ilmenorutile, a mineral recently rec-
ognized by Brogger as a definite
species, was discovered on the Ilmen
Mountains, Urals, in 1854.

The formula deducted from analyses
for struverite F2O. (TaNb^Or,. 5Ti02
and for ilmenorutile FeO. (NbTaH'Or,.
5Ti02 indicate the close chemical re-
lationship of these two minerals.

Two New Boron Minerals of Contact
Metamorphic Origin. By A.
Knope and W. T. Schaller. Amer.
Jour. Scl, XXV, 323.

On the northwest Hand of Brooks
Mountain on the Seward Peninsula,
Alaska, was discovered a new boron
mineral for which the name hulsite
has been proposed.

The other mineral for which has
been proposed the name paigeite was
found at Brooks Mountain and also
forty miles northeast at Ear Mountain.

The formula calculated from an-
alysis for hulsite is 9FeO. ^Mg TO.
2Fe20s. 2H2O. 8B2O3.

The formula assigned to paigeite is
6(FeMg)0. Fe2O.-5.H2O. 3B2OL

Note: At a lecture delivered before
The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and
Sciences by Dr. Schaller on February
2nd, he suggested that due to the fact

AQUARIUM.

that it was impossible to separate these that it might be found later that hul-
new minerals from the magnetite pres- site and paigeite have the same corn-
en t at the time of the first analysis position.

Under the Auspices of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia, Herman T. Wolf, Editor

Sand, Soil, Grit or Pebbles?

Considerable discussion has been
evoked at meetings of the Aquarium
Society of Philadelphia by the import-
ant query, "What is the best planting
medium in the freshwater aquarium,
sand, soil, grit or pebbles?" At first
a divergence of opinion was expressed
but later experimentation led to an
almost unanimous concurrence in what
was since adopted as the best practice.

Some desirable aquatic plants, sag-
ittaria, vallisneria, anacharis, cabomba
and nitella will thrive and exhibit paler
green leaves when set directly in the
sand ; but other plants, ludwigia, pot-
amogeton, moneywort and water-pop-
py, require soil to continue their
growth and to survive under the
changed conditions.

The best practice, it has been found,
is to place a two to two and a half
inch layer of thoroughly washed bar
or beach sand in the aquarium, into
which shallow dishes or pots contain-
ing clean turf and the last mentioned
plants are arranged, then those to be
planted directly in the sand introduced,
and the whole surface covered with
a half-inch layer of small beach pebbles,
known as grit. A few larger pebbles or
brookworn stones may be scattered
over the surface to produce a natural
effect.

For the marine aquarium mixed sand
and grit is preferable, as it offers the
best medium in which some of the
animals may follow their natural habit
of burrowing and hiding.

Grit permits the finer particles of
humus to sift through to the sand
layer, to serve as nourishment for the
plants, presents a neat and tidy sur-
face appearance, and a firmer layer for
the siphoning of the excess accumul-
ations. _

Nonsense Writing about Aquaria.

The longer or shorter articles of
popular scientific nature which from
time to time appear in newspapers are
often unreliable, but those concerning
the aquarium and its inmates are us-
ually even worse, either altogether
untruthful, absurdly impossible, or
misleading and disastrous when believ-
ed in and applied, all due to faulty ob-
servations or the writing on a subject
with which the writers are not conver-
sant.

It is probably the gentle lady society
reporter, the sporting editor, or the
space writer momentarily devoid of a
theme that produce these often gro-
tesque absurdities that may do much
unintentional harm.

The editor of this section of The
Guide; to Nature would be greatly
obliged if the readers would send in
clippings of this nature, stating in
what paper they were published, so
that they may be answered, correc-
tions made and the ghost of ignorance
laid. It is to be regretted, however,
that newspapers seldom publish cor-
rections of their printed articles.

It is proposed here to publish ex-
tracts from such articles to correct

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

errors and misstatements. One re-
cently appeared in a Philadelphia
newspaper and was extensively copied
by others. It stated that the city sup-
ply water was so pure that fishes are
dying, and goes on to say as follows :

"The report of the Director of Public
Works to the effect that the water supplied
to the citizens of Philadelphia is ninety-
nine and fifty-five one hundredths pure is
verified by those dealers that sell fish —
not those who dispose of them to eat, but
the dealers who have for sale golden-sided
little fellows that are kept in glass jars.

In filtered water the fancy goldfish found
death. Thousands of them died from mere
inanition after the completion of the im-
mense filtration plant.

It did not strike the dealers at first that
aqua pura was not just the right thing for
a fancy fish to swim in. Water is water
and logically the purer it is the better. But
not for a fish which feeds upon animal mat-
ter contained therein. It is well enough to
feed a fancy prize winner with flakey fish
food if there is enough substance of a fat-
tening nature in the water to be absorbed.

They could not find enough in the remain-
ing forty-five one hundredths to keep them
going and flopped over by thousands in the
stores of the city and died.

Of course, every one knows that a fish
cannot live out of water, but here was an
added page to natural history. These fish
could not live in the pure unadulterated
water which Philadelphia ha° for her citi-
zens to drink.

But there was a serious side to this mat-
ter. Actually thousands of fishes died from
lack of nourishment until the dealers real-
ized that the animal matter and microbes
had been filtered from the water. The fishes
needed the river dirt and the dealers found
it necessary to send down in the Neck and
dig dirt from the riverbanks and swamp
lands."

A\ nat reallv is the cause of death
of many aquarium fishes is that Dela-
ware river water is largely supplied in
the city mains, and it is known that a
minute quantity of alum is necessary
for its coagulation before the mechan-
ical sand and gravel filters will yield
perfectly clear water. An equally
minute quantity of sulphate of copper
is also used in the storage basins of
many filtering plants, to prevent the
excessive growth of algae, that produce
a greenish color. These quantities are
so small that they have no effect on
mankind in the drinking water, but
do effect the survival of fishes in
the aquarium.

This is the real cause of recent in-

creased mortality among aquarium
fishes in Philadelphia and not the
absurd reason given by the newspaper
writer.

Nutrition carried by the water is so
little at any time that the removal of
the minute fauna and flora of river
water by filtration has no effect what-
ever upon the survival of the fishes,
while the chemicals used cause the
deaths. This has been proven by
recent happenings. Aquaria in good
condition until refilled with water
taken from the mains have been partly
or completely depleted of their fishes
in a few days.

The Propagation of Aquarium Fishes.

The constantly growing demand for
the highly developed breeds of Chinese
and Japanese goldfishes, as well as the
paradise fish, gourami, chanchito,
climbing perch, archer perch, fighting
fish and other labyrinthine or air-
breathing fishes ; and the golden ide,
green and golden tench, bitterling,
carausche, zebra fish and other beauti-
ful indigeneous, exotic and tropical
forms, that may be domesticated and
kept in household aquaria, has opened
a field of industry in the United States
which promises profitable returns to
the culturist, who, with an understand-
ing of needs and requirements and
adequate facilities, will devote himself
to their propagation.

There are some few fish breeders
who have been successful in rearing
the common goldfish on the larger
commercial scale, and who also breed
the scaled varieties of the Japanese
comet and fringetail and Chinese tel-
escope goldfishes ; and a number of
expert amateurs who have succeeded
in breeding the very highly developed
transparently-scaled Chinese and Co-
rean breeds, from whom they may be
purchased at certain seasons ; but there
are so few of these, that with the grow-
ing demand there is opportunity for
larger business enterprise on these
lines.

The present equipment of the com-
mercial breeder is a number of basins
and tanks in a greenhouse, for the
winter storage of brood fishes, and

AQUARIUM.

ponds in which the}' may propagate ing the winter, which are removed to
during the spring' and summer months, the yard or garden in the springtime
That of the expert amateur is usually for out of door culture. Some very

tanks, tubs and other containers in an fine blue-ribbon goldfishes that corn-
otherwise unoccupied room in the niand high prices are raised in Phil-
household, for brood fish storage dur- adelphia by these smaller breeders.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Sometimes the semi-amateurs go one
step further. These are usually flor-
ists, who arrange a part of the green-
house for goldfish propagation. The
illustration No. i is the greenhouse of
Mr. S. C. Selak, of Reading, Pa., a
recent recruit in this industry and a
successful goldfish breeder. It is lo-
cated in that city while his breeding
ponds are some miles distant at his
country residence.

The arrangement of the cement
tanks is good, the conditions favora-
ble, and the returns satisfactory; but
in the writer's opinion, this method is
not ideal and could be greatly improv-
ed upon.

With the toy-varieties of the gold-
fish, and it is these that promise the
high returns on the investment, it has
been proven beyond doubt that fishes
raised in smaller containers than a
pond are superior, and that a greater
number exhibit the desired perfection
of body, fin and eye development which
characterize the fine breeds.

An article recently published in The
Guide to Nature states that only a
small proportion of young fishes in-
herit the desired peculiarities -of the
artifically produced varieties. When
these are selected as soon as hatched
they escape the cannibalistic tenden-
cies of their inferior but more active
brethren, which latter are usually not
preserved.

In small tanks perfect supervision is
possible and feeding may be so regu-
lated that the young fishes need make
no effort to procure food ; which large-
ly tends to short bodies, elegance of
form and exaggerated fin develop-
ment. In the pond no such super-
vision is possible. Those fishes near-
est like the ancestral type, the com-
mon goldfish, are best able to care
for themselves, are most likely to es-
cape enemies and will prey upon the
finer double-tailed, short-bodied fishes.
Furthermore, efforts to obtain suffi-
cient food tend to produce long bodies
at the expense of large fins, and much
activity will result in a general coarse-
ness of appearance different from the
fine forms of the selected tank-bred
goldfishes, which command prices,

three to ten times as great as those of
the pond.

It is also noteworthy that the young
of different broods should be isolated
until they have reached such size as not
to fall victims to the older or more
robust fishes, either of earlier hatch-
ings or those which evince a more
rapid growth, again those which are
less perfect in. development and not
desirable to the expert aquariist and
goldfish fancier.

The illustration Fig. 2 is a sugges-
tion for a large breeding establishment
in the open air, which presents many
advantages over the pond for the cul-
tivation of all the fishes which may
be kept in aquaria. Its location
should be in the country, near a con-
stant supply of moderately cold water.
Surrounding a central greenhouse,
spawning and breeding tanks and
larger rearing and storage tanks should
be arranged with the necessary water
supply and drainage pipes; and a large
water collecting tank and pump in-
stalled, to insure uniform condition and
temperature of the water. This ar-
rangement will permit of perfect su-
pervision, the rearing of the fishes out
of doors in favorable weather ; and
furnish ample storage facilities in the
greenhouse for the brood fishes, the
keeping of very fine specimens for
special prices, and the holding over
of a considerable number of others un-
til times of greatest demand, usually
during the winter; and in the spring,
when good breeding fishes are sought
and usually not to be obtained.

All the tanks should be based upon
a factor of 4 or 5 feet ; which means,
either 4 by 4. 4 by 8, or 5 by 5, 5 by 10
feet ; so that wire screens, to protect
the fishes from enemies, may be inter-
changable. These tanks should be
constructed of cement concrete,
either altogether or only partly above
the level of the foot paths, and should
be entirely drained in winter to pro-
tect them from the action of frost.

A less expensive construction is
wooden tanks for out of door use.
These need only be water tight, of
1 -inch rough lumber, which answers
all purposes as well or better than

AQUARIUM.

elaborately built basins of planed and the aquarium fishes and for experi-
dowelled construction, though lumber mentation with this new and promis-
or this dimension would not resist the ing industry.

pressure in tanks larger than 3 or 3*^ The Guide to Nature would be

feet square. These containers are pleased to answer any further inquiries
amply large for the propagation of all on this subject.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Research Work!

One of my friends, a teacher, was
telling the pupils, "Mr. Bigelow has
been supplied with a laboratory in the
new Arcadia for research work !" One
pupil, whose ideas of the ordinary
meaning of the word, "research," were
evidently not quite clear, exclaimed,
"A whole new building for research
work ! Why what has he lost that it
takes so much to find it ?"

If that pupil will call, I will gladly
explain how my household furniture
is stored in various parts of two towns,
how some pieces of my apparatus are
in Sound Beach and others in various
parts of Stamford, and how I am doing
editorial and scientific work at a table
in a small, temporary office. She sure-
ly will think that it will take many
another hunt to find things — literally
a re-search ! I realize that she was not
so very far from a correct idea of the
situation after all !

The Audubon Societies.

President William Dutcher and his
associated officers and workers of the
Audubon Societies are to be congratu-
lated on their remarkable achieve-
ments and growth in the few years
since the founding in 1901 and the in-
corporation in 1905.

They have been enabled to do
wonderful work in the study and pro-
tection of birds because they have been
liberally supplied with funds for that
purpose.

The total amount of dues received
up to April, 1909, since incorporation
four years ago, amount to $21,725.
The total amount of contributions re-
ceived since incorporation and up to
the same date amount to $13,110.25;
the endowment fund received through
the legacy of the late Albert Willcox,
and a small legacy of some $400.00
from another individual, and life mem-
berships amount to the astonishing sum
of $340,012; expenditure for legal ser-
vices and legislation amounts to $2,-
034.91.

So there has been given in four years
a grand total of $374,847.25, over a
third of a million dollars, for the study
and protection of birds. No wonder
our sister Audubonites have been
enabled to do good work ; and they
have done it, are doing it, and The
Agassiz Association congratulates
them and all their sustainers for it.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

In the light of such extensive aid
and achievements in four years, one can
but dream of what inconceivably great
things might have been accomplished
by The Agassiz Association if it had
had in its thirty-four years of existence
even one tenth of the aid that the
Audubon Societies have had. We
point with no little pride to the fact
that AA has not been limited to national
work but has encircled the globe with
hundreds and hundreds of Chapters
and thousands and thousands of mem-
bers, that it was the pioneer of all the

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL.

great movements in the study of nat-
ure, that for more than a quarter of a
century it included (almost exclusive-
ly) the great popular interest not only
in birds but in plants, animals, min-
erals, stars — everything in nature.
Probably more than half the scientists
of the world have had their stimulus
and training in its Chapters.

In view of all our great work and
achievements, it is a most astonishing
fact of all nature interests that the
total direct gifts in over a third of a
century have been less than $7,000 !
No officer or worker has ever received
salary. It has been a labor of love.
It has by prolonged and faithful work,
in intense self-sacrifice and, more than
all, by great achievements most certainly
demonstrated that it is worthy of liberal
s'tipport.

Now just as we are entering on a
greater era of usefulness, friends of the
AA, life long students in the AA, let
us have the support and that, too, liber-
ally.

Every dollar will be used to good
advantage.

Words! Words! Words!

This magazine stands for one fun-
damental purpose in nature study. It
is for the study of nature, not for the
mere reading about nature. We do
not care to receive long discussions
about nature in the abstract, with
elaborate descriptions of nature in
general. We want things that will
arouse an interest and tend to incite
direct personal relations between the
student and the studied. We want
every subscriber to feel that the editor
is a personal friend, who is more eager
to give help, where help is needed, than
he is to receive pages of flowery de-
scriDtions. The editor believes in
studying nature not in writing words,
words, words about nature.

This does not include profound
technical investigation nor does it
necessarily exclude that kind of study.
The person who sits in the shade of
an apple tree and watches a robin
build her nest in another apple tree is
a close student of nature, and is as
truly and carefully studying as is one

who makes sections of bumblebees in
parafine and for hours pores over those
sections and makes elaborate drawings
of them in his notebook by the aid of
the camera lucida. I believe that both
are right. One prefers one kind of
work, the other another kind. One
prefers the informal, the other the
strictly formal, and this magazine is
in sympathy with both, although it
prefers the informal.

But it is not in sympathy with
articles self-evidently taken from
nature-study books or from encyclo-
pedias, nor is it in sympathy with mere
explanations of emotion excited by a
general view of nature as of a land-
scape, all of which might be condensed
in the assertion, "I love nature," "I
love nature," "I love nature." Let us
understand one another. We want to
avoid the necessity of returning manu-
scripts and photographs, because that
takes the time of the editor and of the
office clerk and is withal annoying to
the contributor. We welcome as
cordially and as promptly the original
observations of the novice as those of
the veteran. The question is, Have
you seen something of the interest or
beauty of nature that really means
something definite to you, and will
mean something definite to those for
whom you describe your observations?
We frequently receive letters in-
tended to be commendatory, which tell
us how interesting the magazine is and
how much the subscriber enjoyed read-
ing it. All this is of course pleasing.
We should not be true to human
nature if we attempted to convey any
other impression. All of us like ap-
preciative words, regardless of the
form in which they come. So while
we do not say that we dislike such
communications, we do say that the
only thing for which we are working
is to incite in both reader and con-
tributor a direct, personal interest in
nature. It is the editor's firm belief
that the multiplicity of books and mag-
azines on nature study tends, in a
certain and positive sense, to lessen
any real active interest that the reader
of such literature might otherwise have
been led to exhibit toward his immediate
surroundings, which means "that state

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

of life unto which it shall please God
to call" him. The great American
reading public seems to be contented
to take everything for granted on the
authority of some one else who has
developed and nourished a real interest
in that part of nature in the midst of
which he exists. We shall be glad to
know that something has been said in
the magazine which has brought some
one back to nature, or in the words
of our beloved Agassiz that the reader
has learned to "study nature not
books."

Difficulties in Early Days of a Great

Movement.

"I suppose no great effort has ever
been made for the improvement of
conditions, for the advancement of the
human race, that has not been met
with bitter opposition, ridicule, and
abuse from the people at large ; but
when the heroic reformer with a spark
of Christ-like patience says : "Father
forgive them, for they know not what
they do," and holding steadily, un-
swervingly to his course, reaches the
goal, and, though weary and exhaust-
ed, establishes firmly the new- and
better condition of affairs, the people
are apt to accept the benefits accruing,
as a mere matter of course, and give
no thought to the price paid by the
reformer for his success.

'To-day the Society for the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Animals is a
recognized power for good through-
out the land. The most prominent,
the most powerful men, the most
gracious and influential women are
proud to serve it ; while the bright-
eyed, observant babies of the entire
country are its eager little agents and
flying messengers.

"It has offices everywhere, paid of-
ficials, agents, lawyers, doctors, work-
men, ambulances, shelters, machinery
for rescue, and the merciful lifting and
lowering of fallen beasts of burden.
To-day all such work is done before
approving and admiring eyes, but once
it was a different story. For this
society came into existence amid a
very storm of disapprobation, with
rumbling jeers and imprecations from

the vulgar and debased, flashing with
the sarcastic and malicious mockeries
of the thoughtlessly indifferent. In-
famous cruelty stalked rampant
through the city. The brutalities
familiarly witnessed on every hand
were coarsening the fibre and harden-
ing the hearts of the people, and thus
lowering their spiritual standard. For
so closely interwoven are the interests
of man — made in God's image — and the
gentle dumb creatures given to his
service and his care, that cruelty and
brutality to the patient beast of burden
result in the debasing of the guilty man
himself. Therefore this Society, in
constituting itself the defence of the
defenceless, truly served man as well
as beast, in teaching him to control
if not to conquer his savage instincts
— his senseless furies." — "The Life of
a Star" (by Clara Morris) in chapter
on Henry Bergh.

The Myth of the Gulf Stream.

Benjamin Franklin on returning from
Europe about 1730 measured the tem-
perature of the Gulf Stream with a
thermometer, undoubtedly a Fahrenheit
mercurial thermometer, so that he and
Dr. Lining of Charleston, S. C, were
the first to bring such thermometers to
America. Ever since that day English,
French and German writers have
lauded the Gulf Stream as the great
regulator of the climates of Europe and
America. But how is it possible for
this warm stream a few miles wide off
the Florida coast to affect the climate
of Europe 3,000 miles away, or the
climate of the United States wdiere
westerlv winds prevail. Elaborate
measurements of the temperature of
the surface water of the Atlantic ocean
have abundantly demonstrated that
there is no special warm Gulf Stream
north or east of Cape Cod, Mass., so
that from that coast eastward to
Europe the westerly winds may carry
moisture and mild rainy weather, but
no warm Gulf Stream temperatures.

In the Pacific Ocean the Japan Cur-
rent is observable as far northward as
latitude 40 degrees North, off the coast
of Japan, but beyond this, again, the
ocean temperatures become uniform

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL.

and the warm stream is not recognis-
able. Therefore the west winds of the
Pacific bring to the American coast
the general temperature and moisture
of that immense body of water, but not
an}- special influence from the Japan
Current. These matters are so plain
that every reasonable man should give
up the old errows regarding the in-
fluences of these warm currents .on
disant coasts.-— C. A.

In Springtime.

BY FRANK M. VAX SCHAACK, II ARRISBL'RG,
PENNSYLVANIA.

The bluff March winds have whispered to
each tree
And sleeping plant their words of timely
cheer;
They said, "The land from winter's power is
free,
Awake! the time to rise is surely here."

The pussy-willows burst their prison cells,
And thrust themselves into the light of
day;

Hepatica upturns its purple bells,

And bids the April sunshine longer stay.

The dainty blooms of maples hastening out,

Imparting nectar to the hungry bees,
The flower-lined twigs of cherries tossed
about,
All lend their fragrance to the western
breeze.

The bloodroot rears its snow-white, cup-
like flowers
Along the southern slopes of wooded hills,
To catch the crystal drops that April
showers
To quench their thirst and feed the moun-
tain rills.

Above the leaves of many a woodside dell
The windflowers lift their gentle, smiling
faces
With nodding heads the trilliums to tell
That March's storms are won by April's
graces.

The pulpit Jack stands up beside the way,
As if us to instruct in wood-folk lore;

But, not one word of wisdom can he say
About the secrets wood-folk have in store.

Gay dandelion dons his gorgeous coat
Of fine spun gold all trimmed in laurel
green,
He stifly bows to passing winds ; to dote,
He seems, on dress and strives to have
his seen.

And now the daisies knit the waving fields
In tapestries of green and white and gold.

Pair eglantine the call of summer feels,
And wafts its perfume o'er the wayside
wold.

While swiftly fly the happy days of May,
The meadow lands with buttercups are
strewn.
The flowers of spring begin to fade away,
To yield their place to those of sunny
June.

^RRESPONDENCE

AND

INFORMATION^

Aquariist not Aquarist.

Philadelphia, Pa.
To the; Editor:

You will notice that in the manu-
script I use the word aquariist, which
in two issues you changed to a aquar-
ist.

The word aquarist has been taken
by artists to designate a water-coior
painter; the fancier of an aquarium is
an aquariist, the difference being that
one word is made from aqua, water,
the other from aquarium, a container
of fluvial life.

I merely mention this that your
readers may not think a deliberate
substitution has been made.
Very truly yours,

H. T. Wolf.

Importation of Skylarks.

Victoria, B. C, Canada.
To the Editor :

Five or six years ago the Natural
History Society of Victoria, British
Columbia, decided to import a number
of song birds from England. Quite
a large sum of money was subscribed

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

and skylarks, bulfinches, and English
robins were brought out and liberated.
The robins and goldfinches soon dis-
appeared, but the larks lived and are
increasing at a good rate. They may
now be heard any morning in the fields
surrounding the city, as they soar al-
most to the clouds. Recently they
have been found to be scattering
somewhat and it is hoped that they will
eventually spread over the whole of
Vancouver Island.

It would certainly be of interest to
the readers of The Guide to Nature
to know what other importations of
skylarks have been made to this con-
tinent. There is no other place in
Canada where they have been imported.
The birds in the neighborhood of Vic-
toria do not migrate, but may be heard
singing all through the winter months.

Henry F. Pullen.

Quick Growth of Rodent's Teeth.

Portland, Me.
To the Editor:

Regarding the interesting facts told
of the teeth of woodchucks in the

March number : it may not be gen-
erally known that the teeth of rodents
when accidentally broken off grow very
quickly again. I noticed one day that
the chipmunk whose photograph ap-
peared in the February number made
very awkward work of taking things
into his mouth and pouches. Ex-
amination revealed that one of his
lower teeth was broken off over half
of it being gone and so care was taken
that soft food was furnished him. But
in a very short time — less than a month
— the tooth was grown to the original
length. It is quite necessary that cap-
tive members of this family be given
nuts uncracked in order that their teeth
be kept worn down by use. The il-
lustration shown by Miss Knowles
gives a fine idea of what happens when
a rodent is not able to keep his teeth
in practice.

F. S. Morton.

I have read the first ten numbers with
interest. They appeal to me as "just right"
and contain a whole lot of the information
we are all looking for. — Raymond L. Dit-
mars.

ORNITHOLOGY

The Varied Repertoire of the
Mockingbird.

BY HARRIET WILLIAMS MYERS, 306
AVENUE 66, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

It was a glorious winter's morning.
A perfect day, it seemed to me, as I
sat in my yard and revelled in nature's
beauties. A recent rain had cleared
the atmosphere, washed the dust off
the vegetation, and made the air pure
and sweet. The warm sun proclaimed
it a spring day albeit the calendar said
it was still winter.

No wonder that the hens were cack-
ling noisily, proclaiming eggs to their
credit, or squawking in a satisfied, if

unmusical, way; the bees hummed
drosily as they gathered honey from
the pepper blossoms above my hta 1,
and the mockingbirds sang.

The season had been a dry one, —
too dry the wiseacres said — for the
country's good, and it seemed as if
the mockers, feeling this lack of mois-
ture, had withheld their songs for a
more propitious time. And so this
medley going on above my head was
doubly welcome. California, with all
its wonders, would lose half its charm
should the mockingbirds cease to sing.

As I listened to this wondrous song
floating down upon me, I marvelled at
the varied repertoire, and smiled as I

ORXITHOLOCY

YOUNG VALLEY QUAIL

recognized the notes of other
feathered friends whom I knew wei e
nowhere about. "Ja-cob, ja-cob, Ja-
cob," called the bird, mimicking to per-
fection the large California wood-
pecker who dwells in the Arroya Seco
not far away. The "ja-cob" note was
followed by trills and warbles all the
mocker's own, but not long could he
keep to an original song. A shrill note
of the California shrike followed and
I was reminded of a morning when,
hearing the sweet song of one of these
birds, I rushed to the door only to find
it was "my" mockingbird trying his
voice. Most people think of the shrike
as only having a shrill, most uncanny
call, but in reality he has many notes
and a song that is a low warble which
is often sweeter than that of the fa-
mous songster whom in color he re-
sembles. Not often do I hear the real
song of the shrike. Hence my anxiety
to catch every note of it, and my dis-
gust to find that I had again been
"fooled." However, there is consola-
tion in knowing that I am not the only
one who has been tricked by this
wiley bird. More than one sleepy mor-
tal has been aroused in the dead of
night and gone out to see what was
disturbing the chickens, only to find
it was the saucy mockingbird, who,
having inveigled his victim out of bed,
pealed forth his song in sardonic glee
at his deceit. Verily, I believe that
this "mocker" is also a "joker," could
we understand his language we would

find his enjoyment of pranks played
on other birds, and mortals, very keen.

There were still other notes of the
shrike, this versatile singer used as his
song rippled forth, and another call
of California woodpecker he also
gave. It was a gutteral, rasping sound
that I have often heard them make
as they hammered acorns into a rotten
tree.

But the shrike and the woodpecker
wTere not the only birds that my song-

CALIFORNIA VALLEY QUAIL

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER

ster mocked. Far from it. I have
sometimes thought that it would be
easier to name the birds that this vo-
calist does not mock than those he
does.

The call of the California jay was
shouted forth even as that blue tyrant
shouts it ; also another, longer, note of
the same bird was given. The "Pip,
pip," in imitation of the purple finch
who was foraging in the yard and also
giving the note, reminded me what
an indication the song of the mocking-

bird is of presence of certain birds in
the neighborhood. I have sometimes
thought that a keen observer could al-
most tell when the summer birds have
arrived by listening to this bird's song.
It would seem that out of sight was
out of mind with this mimic, since
through the winter months the notes
of the winter birds and those that are
more commonly about are heard. But
no sooner has the black-headed gros-
beak returned from his southern so-
journ, and commenced his beautiful
song, than a portion of it is taken up
and woven into his own effort by this
versatile bird. "Whit-we-a, whit-we-
a, Sweet Marie," he shouts from the
tree top that the passer by may fully
appreciate his wonderful ability. The
orioles with their noisy chatter come
in for their share of attention as does
also the Arkansas kingbird with his
rapidly given, "Whita, whita, Avhita."
Many birds having single notes that
would not be noticed by any
save one very familiar with bird
music, are used by the mocking-bird,
being woven into his song as if they
were his very own. The nasal twang-
ing note of the western gnatcatcher is
a notable one, the shrill whistle of the
brewer blackbird, the "Pheb" of the
black pheobe, the liquid note of the
phainopepla, and the wierd note of the
wood pewee are others.

One of the most triumphant vocal-
istic feats of the mockingbird in my

MOCKING BIRD AT BIRD TABLE

ORNITHOLOGY.

estimation, is his ability to imitate the
three-note falsetto eall of the valley
quail. When I first heard the quail give
his note I thought that lie plainly said,
"Whip-poor-Will," but this call has
been variously interpreted. To some
he seems to say, "Get-right-out" while
others are so unkind as to make this
jaunty beauty impolitely say. Shut-
right-up!" Just how the mockingbird
means to interpret it I would not ven-
ture to say, but that he succeeds in
imitating" it perfectly, I know.

Not so well does he succeed when
he tries his voice on the song of the
western meadow lark. Attempt it,
however, he does and although there
is no doubt as to what he is under-
taking, he is unable to carry the
refrain long. In fact, I have not often
heard him undertake it but I believe
it is because he does not frequently
hear the song rather than his unwill-
ingness to undertake it.

Saucy, inquisitive, sulky, fun-loving,
scolding mockingbird, bird of as many
moods as notes — long may you con-
tinue to be our yard pet, and may your
matchless voice ever ring clear in your
varied repertoire.

Field Lillies.

BY i;.M.M.\ PEIRCE, \i;\V YORK CITY.
All the bells of the lilies are ringing,
Keeping time with the neighbor-birds sing-
ing,
With the joy that the summer is bringing.

Matin bells! of the sunshine's own tinting,
With the pure morning light on them glint-
ing,
Of glory ineffable hinting.

Vesper bells! with the sunset hues glowing,
From their fair golden chalices throwing
A halo round all 'neath them growing.

"The Guide to Nature" continues to im-
prove. I did not think you could do it. The
money you have put into the magazine war-
rants a big subscription list and I trust
you are getting it. It is the best publication
of the kind that I know of and deserves to
succeed. — Willard N. Clute.

I have read with great pleasure the issues
of "The Guide to Nature." I wish you all
success in the future of this splendid jour-
nal.—A. W. Nolan, A. B.

I think "The Guide to Nature" is decidedly
improving and I believe will get better and
better. — Earl Douglass.

A QUEER "BIRD" IN ITS NEST IN A HOLLOW TREE

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

PoPULW^TRqNoMYJ

The Heavens in May.

BY GARRETT P. SERVISS, BROOKLYN, N. Y.

The Chart shows the sky as it ap-
pears at 9 P. M. on the ist of the
month, 8 P. M. in the middle and
7 P. M. at the end.

The historic comet represented this
month is that of 1861, one of the most
celebrated in the annals of astronomy.
The Chart shows its position on June
30th, nineteen days after its perihelion
passage. Few comets have made a
greater sensation, for its appearance
was altogether unexpected, and it came
up into the northern hemisphere after
passing perihelion, in the full blaze
of its splendor, with a great divided
tail, some of whose streamers were
more than a hundred degrees in
length.

THE PLANETS.

Jupiter remains the planetary king
of the evening sky, although the earth
is now drawing away from him. He
is seen west of the meridian, near
the Sickle in Leo, and in brightness
he far excels the brightest of the fixed
stars. His steady planetary light is
a pleasure to the eye, and no object
can be more interesting for the pos-
sessor of even the smallest telescope.
His great colored belts are always in
evidence, their appearance changing
from hour to hour, while the motions
of his four principal satellites, with
their eclipses, and occultations, are an
unending delight for the observer.
Even without a telescope, or any other
instrument, Jupiter is a fascinating ob-
ject to look upon, especially when we
reflect that he is the greatest planet
in our solar system, almost 1400 times
larger in bulk than the earth we live
on. His distance from the earth is
now, in round numbers, about 400,-
000,000 miles. Neptune in Gemini is,

of course, invisible to the naked eye.
He can never be seen without a tele-
scope. Mercury, however, is now,
visible, reaching his greatest elong-
ation east of the sun on May 20th.
He is quite brilliant seen in the twi-
light after sunset. Venus has been
east of the sun, and consequently an
evening star, since April 28th, but she
will not become a conspicuous object
until later in the year. The other
planets are not now in the evening
sky.

THE STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS.

The whole length of the enormous
Hydra can now be seen, stretching
across the southern sky, starting with
the diamond-shaped head under the
Beehive cluster in Cancer, and rim-
ing under Leo, Crater, Corvus, and
Virgo, nearly to the eastern horizon.
His brightest star, the lone Alphard,
exhibits a reddish color. Below the
central and fore parts of his elongated
body may be seen some of the stars
in the rigging of the ship Argo, and be-
low his tail some of the stars of Centau-
rus. Virgo is very conspicuous in the
south-east, especially on account of the
beauty of its chief star, the pure white
Spica. The situation of the celebrated
binary, Gamma Virginis, is indicated
on the Chart. This is well worth
looking at with a telescope. The two
stars composing it are each of about
the third magnitude, and their distance
apart is a little less than six seconds
of arc. They revolve about their com-
mon center of gravity in a little less
than 200 years. A 3-inch telescope
shows them beautifully. Above Virgo
the glimmering cluster in Coma
Berenices is conspicuous, and east of
it glows great Arcturus, one of the
most brilliant of the fixed stars, and
the brightest in the constellation Bootes,

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

the Bear-Driver, who seems to be pur-
suing the Great Bear, Ursa Major
(the Great Dipper) around the pole.
Among other constellations particularly
beautiful at the present time is Corona
Borealis, which may be seen, with its al-
most perfect circle of stars, northeast of
Arcturus. Away over in the northeast
Lyra is seen rising with the glittering
Vega, which is as bright as Arcturus, but

llerschers discovery that it lies ahead
of us in the path which the Solar System
is pursuing straight toward the north,
at the rate of more than 300,000,000 miles
per year. Later studies have shown
that the real direction of this vast flight
is rather nearer to Vega than to the
central part of Hercules.

Leo, in mid-heaven, is well placed
for observation, the figure of the Sickle

Evening SkyMap for MAY

May Moon Phases
Full Moon, MayS
LastQtr., May 12
NewMoon,A\ayi9-
FirstQtr.,May26

facesouthand
hold the map over
your head-the top
north. and you will see
the stars andplanets
just as they appear
in the heavens

TheArrow Through

THE TWO STARS IN THE

BOWL OF THE BIG DIPPER

POINTS TO THE NORTH STAR.

THE STAR AT THE END OF THE

HANDLE OFTHF. LITTLE DIPPER

SOUTH

sirikingly different in color, its rays
being blue-white while Arcturus is
orange, or at times almost red. Both
of these stars are of .immense actual mag-
nitude. Arcturus probably exceeding
our sun at least 1000 times in bright-
ness while Vega is hardly less enor-
mous. But Vega is apparently young
in the order of evolution, and Arctu-
rus is old, older than the sun. Be-
tween Corona Borealis and Vega ap-
pears the constellation Hercules, for-
ever memorable from Sir William

is clearly marked and the leading star
Regulus, at the lower end of the
handle, is not only bright but it is
important being one of the "nautical
stars" employed by sailors in finding
their longitude at sea.

There is a well-known meteor
shower in May, known as the Aqua-
rids, because they radiate from the
constellation Aquarius. As that con-
stellation does not rise before mid-
night these meteors, if any are seen
in the evening, will appear shooting

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

up from the horizon in the northeast.
They are visible from the ist to the
6th of the month. They move swiftly,
making streaks in the sky, which
usually vanish almost instantly.
Bolides, or fire-balls, not belonging to

any meteor shower may make their
appearance at any time. A most
wonderful one was seen in England
on the evening of February 22nd last.
It left a glowing trail which remained
visible more than two hours.

DOMESTICATED,

v'i */•*

NATURE

,JQ_

A Cat Mothers Squirrels.

BY GEO. W. IRVING, PHOTOGRAPHER,

WATERVILEE, N. Y.

(For remarkable illustration, see frontispiece.)

On the farm of Albert Fisher in
Waterville, N. Y., in June, 1908, a cat
was the happy mother of several kit-
tens. As there were too many cats
already on the farm it was necessary
to kill the playful little ones, and after
that the grief of the mother cat was
most pathetic to see. She refused to
eat and took absolutely no interest
in anything but her ceaseless search
for the missing offspring. One day
a young squirrel was taken from its
nest in a tree some distance from the
house and offered to the cat as a tempt-
ing morsel. Instead of toying with
and torturing the baby squirrel and
eventually eating it, as is the nature
of a cat, she promptly transferred the
love and affection she had for her kit-
tens to the young squirrel. She gave
it all the attention and kindness that
her warm mother heart could suggest,
and the young squirrel was happy.
The next day the mother cat sought
out the squirrel nest in the tree and
took all the young squirrels to the
box where her kittens had been. There
she reared her odd family, giving them
the same nourishment and in the same
manner that she would her own kittens.
The squirrels grew up and when big
enough returned to their native haunts
in the trees.

The Last of the Purple Martins in
Stamford.

BY ELIZABETH E. SMITH, STAMFORD, CONN,

The beginning of our martins was
that they came to our pigeon houses.
After boxes were put up for them, they
came to us regularly so that in the
course of a year or two, when getting
ready to migrate south (which they al-
ways did on the eighth of August),
they would number a hundred or more.

They would arrive on or near the
ninth of April, and, in proof that birds
return to their old haunts, one ninth
of April our man looked abroad in the
sky many times, being finally rewarded
by seeing one come at five o'clock in
the afternoon and make a tour of three
boxes (which, however, were closed to
prevent the English sparrows from tak-
ing possession). The fourth box was
on the barn floor, ready to go up. The
ladder being in place, the house was
immediately raised and while it was be-
ing fastened the bird came in at the
rear and remained for the night. After
being rested, apparently, the bird left
to return again in a day or two with
several others.

All went well for several years until
the cold, wet June of 1903 or 1904
when there were no insects in the air
for them to feed upon, either for them-
selves or their young and the old ones
dropped dead around the place (the
taxidermist saying they were only
skin and bone), starved to death, and
of course the little ones in the nests

DOMESTICATED NATLRE.

died from cold and starvation. Of
the two birds stuffed one was a male
with jet black, glossy feathers; the
other a female with grey breast.

They would fight valiantly for pos-
session of their homes against the Eng-
lish sparrows, having been seen in two
instances to drag the sparrow out and
dash him to the ground. But few lived
through that inclement June and they
never came again to my knowledge to
Hubbard's, Noroton, or Clark's Hill
boxes.

Experiences with Pet Bats.

BY EVELYN GROESBEECK MITCHELL
WASHINGTON, D. C.

Bats, by most people, are hardly
considered in the light of possible pets,
but, as a matter of fact, I know of
none more cunning and interesting.
They are not hard to keep, either, but
there is one thing that must be kept
in mind — they will not live in a cage.
They want the liberty of a room, and
the attic or cellar will answer very
well.

I have had several bats at different
times ; three brown, two black, one red
and one hoary. They stayed in my
care from three months to over a year
when I let them go, with the excep-
tion of the hoary, which, through neg-
lect in my absence, died in a few
weeks from the time he was caught.

My first bat was a little black fel-
low, brought me by a highly excited
Irish lad, who had found the "quare
mouse" in his cellar. I turned the
furious, scuffling, wee beastie loose in
a box with glass sides and wire top,
where he hung himself upside down.
There he hissed and squeaked to his
heart's content, raising a terrific fuss
at my near approach. If his body had
been as large as his temper, I have no
doubt that I should have been swal-
lowed at one gulp. For a whole day
the obstinate little scamp starved him-
self, snappishly refusing flies offered
on a straw. Thinking that the way to
his heart would best be found through
his appetite, I finally popped flies into
the wide-open mouth. The first two
or three he spat out angrily, but soon
shut his jaws on one by mistake.
Then he concluded that eating was a

far pleasanter and more profitable oc-
cupation than scolding, though for
some time he continued to give me a
piece of his mind in the intervals be-
tween Hies. Within a couple of days,
however, we were on the best of terms,
and he would lift his queer little square
nose at me with a pleased twitter very
different from his first angry, shrill
squeaks. Then I let him loose in my
room, where he hung up on a bunch of
sea-weed, but shut him up when the
lights were on.

All the bats, except the red one, were
very easily tamed, soon learning who
fed them and snuggling cosily down in
my hand to eat or take a nap. Dear,
cuddly things they were, like soft
floss silk, with such bright beads of
black eyes. As for their wings — well,
dead bat's wings may be leathery, but
these live ones were like the most deli-
cate Japanese silk crepe. The mem-
brane is very sensitive, but after a
while my pets would allow me to
gently spread their wings.

Their tiny teeth were needle-like,
but although they occasionally flew
into a ridiculous rage and treated some
one to a nip, their puggy jaws were
too small to allow of serious damage.
The little red bat had a frightful tem-
per, screaming as if he were possessed
and nipping at the slightest provoca-
tion. The hoary was very gentle and
even affectionate, loving to have his
head and back scratched with a bit of
stick, as did most of the others. Had
he lived he would have been the nicest
pet of all, since he was large enough
to be easily handled and had very
beautiful dark brown fur with snowy
frostings. He seemed the most intelli-
gent, though none of them were stu-
pid. .Most of them objected to stran-

gers

The bats used to begin to get hun-
gry and fly about any time after two
in the afternoon, generally late when
it was bright or hot, and quite early
on cloudy days. They would swoop
low, catch on my skirt near my
knees and come scrambling and chat-
tering up to be fed. As they proved
to have storage room for as many as
80 or 90 flies during the day, I soon
gave up that method of feeding, since

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

THE PET BAT IN ITS FAVORITE
POSITION

it would have taken most of the family
time for the occupation of fly-trap.
Raw beef, in very small scraps, and
milk, which they greedily lapped from
a doll's spoon, proved to be satisfac-
tory substitutes for insects. In chew-
ing" they opened their mouths wide, in
the most unmannerly way, at every
bite. They would come down to drink
from a saucer of water arranged so
they could get at it. They always
made a great scrambling and flapping
to take wing again from the flat sur-
face on which the)- had alighted. One
of them occasionally dipped to the
water while circling about the room.
Sometimes during the fight, a fly
struck the membrane near the tail.
Instantly the tail doubled up, the in-
sect was "bagged" and the bat, duck-

ing his head, devoured the fly without
ceasing his circling.

Although they would hang on our
clothes and fingers, I never knew them
to take to any one's hair. They were
very clean and washed a great deal,
hanging" up by their hind feet during
the process. They licked themselves
all over, scrubbing their heads and
ears with their wrists and twisting-
Way around to reach their backs.

( )ur Mary did not like their uncanny
appearance. "Och," she exclaimed,
when she saw the first, ''tis a little
young divil and 'tis. Oi-m not shtayin'
in the house wid a little young divil."
She did stay, however, but never would
she set foot alone in the room with a
bat.

On warm spring nights, my little
rovers of the dark would be apt to
hang on the window screens and favor
me with a serenade of high-pitched,
cricket-like squeaks, to which there
was sometimes a response from the
pine tree outside. With my first bat,
the duet grew so furious and insistent
that, after flinging everything avail-
able, for several nights, at the bat in
the tree, with no effect save to cause
him to shift his position, I turned my
own serenader out of doors. He
stayed about the place for some time.

Summer before last I tamed a bat
that used to fly in through my open
window. I shut the window and
whenever he grew tired of flying about
the room, approached him gently. In
about an hour he ceased to fly away,
and soon allowed me to touch him.
A night or two afterward, he came in
acain. That time I had some beef
scraps for him, and finally persuaded
him to take one. It was funny to see
him licking his jaws with his red little
tongue. The upshot was, that I fed
that bat several times a week, until
he went away, to hibernate. I think.
Speaking of hibernating, if you try to
keep them all winter, be sure they have
a cold place to hibernate in. And
don't ever shut them up, or they will
sulk and fret and grieve to death for
freedom. Tut if they are kept as I had
them, their elfin ways will make them
some of the most lovable pets that can
be desired.

DOM ESTICATED NATURE.

73-

How a Spider Saved Her Cocoon.

BY W. C. KNOWLES, WASHINGTON,

CONNECTICUT.

Out in the garden a green tip had
poked its way through a decaying mat
of leaves, and to my delight I found
a bunch of daffodils had dared the
spring sunshine. Taking a spade, 1
decided to divide the clump of bulbs,
since they were already crowding the
hardy border. As a portion of the soil
crumbled back into the spot I was
digging, I saw a round white object
move frantically back and forth in the
bottom of the hole, and I soon discov-
ered that I had taken captive a female
spider with her cocoon attached to her
spinneret.

I stopped my work and watched to
see if the little creature could climb
out of the pitfall. She was one of the
Lycosidse and so nearly the color of
her surroundings that without her
white burden, she doubtless would
have been buried in the sand. Each
time the spider tumbled back from
the edge of her prison, she grasped her
cocoon beneath her body using the
mandibles and a pair of her sturdy legs
to securelv hold the burden.

When she had gained her freedom
I watched her course over the lawn
wdiere a tiny forest of grass blades had
sprung up after the rain. As soon as
the careful little mother found that

the thread, which fastened the pre-
cious burden to her body was being
entangled among the stiff grass blades,,
she did not rush blindly ahead but
turned back and untangled her load as
deftly as human ringers unwind a snarl
in a string.

At last I picked up the spider to
examine her markings and the slender
thread, which still fastened the cocoon
to the spinneret, broke in two and the
round cocoon rolled over the board
walk. Wondering how I conld undo
the mischief which careless fingers had
wrought I placed the cocoon and spider
in a small paper box.

To my great surprise and pleasure
when I opened the box next day I
found that the spider had reattached
the cocoon to her spinneret.

Out in the garden a happy spider
soon hurried away to the hardy border
where spring had already touched the
green things.

This little magazine fills a long felt want
and is a credit to its maker.— George A.
King.

I am glad that "The Guide to Nature" is
rapidly taking the place it ought to take. —
Earl Douglass.

This (September), your last issue, is in-
deed a most splendid and attractive issue.
— R. Menger, M. D.

"NOW LETS SIT DOWN AND THINK ABOUT IT"

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

m&&€H€€C<Z<KKCCC<Z&<CCC<<&CC*<<K«i^^^

i "•....... — - j 1 Tl C ; ### :

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION'

"How to Adapt the Society to the
Need."
When Dr. E. P. Bigelow recently took the
presidency of the Agassiz Association every-
body felt that the development of that insti-
tution would not proceed along conventional
lines and they have not been mistaken. Dr.
Bigelow bristles with unique ideas that are
likely to make people interested in nature-
study sit up and take notice. His latest
venture is "Arcadia" a collection of portable
buildings in Sound Beach, Conn., in which
he purposes carrying on various experiments
connected with the work of the Agassiz
Association. The fund for this purpose have
been furnished by a philanthropist too
modest to give his name, but the aid is none
the less substantial because of this. When
the Agassiz Association was first started,
there were practically no books of a popular
nature by which a student, working alone,
could get an insight into the phase of natural
history that attracted him, but with the in-
crease of science-teaching in the schools
and the issuing of a vast number of books
on every conceivable phase of nature, the
need for a society like the Agassiz Associa-
tion was less urgent and there was a general
falling off in membership. We are of the
opinion, however, that there is still, a
decided need for something of the kind and
that Dr. Bigelow will find out how to adapt
the society to the need. If "Arcadia" proves
to be a success after two vears trial, it will
become a permanent feature: if not, we may
exnect Dr. Bigelow to originate something
else as novel. More than twenty thousand
boys and girls have been heloed over hard
places by the Aeassiz Association. Among
them was the editor of this magazine who
remembers with nleasure and gratitude his
connection with it and he could wish no
better fortune for the ri«ing generation than
that it, too, mav discover the delights of
memhershio. T^e American Fern Society,
the Sullivant Moss Chanter, and the Grav
Memorial Botanical Chanter, all had their
origin in t^ old Aorassiz Association.. — "The
American Botanist."

T am sincerely Grateful for this notice
which is evidently designed to be com-
olirhentary. But it is not wholly a

erroneous idea of The Agassiz Asso-
ciation. It is the mission of the AA to
advance a knowledge and increase a
love of nature that is in cooperation
and sympathy with the systematic
science of the schools (of all grades
from kindergarten to university) yet
is entirely distinct from their methods.

Again, and even more important, the
AA is the more needed as the books on
nature are increased in number. If our
knowledge of nature has been limited
to the nature of the books, the more
do we need to follow Louis Agassiz's
advice, "Study nature, not books."

Further, on the supposition that a
knowledge and love of nature has been
increased by "science-teaching in the
schools" and "the issuing of a vast
number of books," then more than ever
is the A A needed to teach the pupil
how to observe when unaided by the
teacher's presence, how to compare
two closely similar objects, how to
make his own decisions unaided except
by his own mentality and cerebral
acuteness, how, in a word, to stand
upright on his own feet and to help
himself. A book can do none of these
things. A book may help, as a sharp
axe in the hands of a skillful woods-
man may help to build a city by felling
a tree in a primeval forest, but one axe
and one man will not build the town.

To illustrate : — The wider the dis-
semination and demand for religious
books, the greater the number of suc-
cessful evangelists and the greater the
interest and efficiency of churches.
Or, to change the comparison, the
more music books and music teachers,
the more effective our musical so-

joy, because it expresses a common yet cieties will become.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

To come back to the main argument.
The AA is not a stepping-stone; it
is not merely a tool, it is not merely a
help, it is a fellowship of feeling and
purpose between one lover and student
of nature and all other students and
lovers of nature. The more of such
study and love that we have, the great-
er our zeal in the AA. "A fellow
feeling makes us wondrous kind," or
something to that effect, you re-
member.

All honor to the important work of
the AA in the past. Great as was the
success of "the old Agassiz Associa-
tion," the demand for similar work in
the future is even more urgent.

The methods, the needs, the points
of view may change slightly as the
years go by; but for one fact let us
strive — never, Oh ! never to be merely
a "has-been."

How Nature Comes to Me.

SUSAN TUCKER, CHENEY, WASHINGTON.

CORRESPONDING MEMBER NO. 2047, oF

AA.

We were asked in the prospectus
of The Guide to Nature how we
came in contact with nature ; "Do you
travel to nature by aid of a railroad train,
a steamboat, automobile, carriage or bi-
cycle, or on foot? It makes no dif-
ference how you go; the question "Do
you go?"

"Do you use any tool in getting
near to the heart of nature, — any cam-
era, cage, hutch, hoe, dibble, hive, ham-
mer, plane, field-glass, microscope, col-
lecting case, net, etc?"

Well suppose you do not go any-
where, and suppose you cannot use
any tool for any purpose that is no
reason why you would not find plea-
sure in nature study.

When you cannot go to nature if
yon can see and will look you may find
nature come to you. And if you love
nature it will be near your heart even
if you are shut within four walls.

I have thought of this lately as I have
been closely confined in the house all
winter, and could only study the out-
door world from my window or from
the door steps.

From my window I can see pine
trees and I know that there are more

trees just beyond those I can see, and
sometimes I think it would be delight-
ful to take a walk in the woods to see
the beasts and birds of the woods.
Having always lived on the prairie the
woods are always a novelty.

I have a few fruit trees, and bushes
of small fruit currants, gooseberries,
raspberry and blackberry bushes; and
some flowering shrubs two large beds
of asparagus and numerous perennial
plants that keep more or less foiiage
through the winter. It has always been
interesting to note the number of
woodland birds that will stop for rest
or food in my yard.

This winter we have had few bird
visitors until recently. For severai
days a large flock of birds have been
finding food among the apple trees, es-
pecially on a tree not far from the
house where there are apples still hang-
ing on the tree.

The bird is as large or larger than a
bluebird, so far as I can see it seems
to be gray with light bars on the wing
and a crest that looks red. I tried to
look at the birds with the field-glass
but from some cause that glass is of
little use. It makes things look larger
but you cannot even guess at the color
as everything is edged with rainbow-
colors. I will keep a close lookout for
the birds may come close to the window
by and by.

Two weeks ago I chanced to glance
out of the window and saw a prairie
chicken flying directly toward me. It
lit by the doorstep, walked deliberately
to a nearby rose bush, picked about it
then went to the asparagus bed where
it made a meal on the berries. It then
flew on top of the house, and after a
few minutes we heard it fly away.

One morning when I stepped out
of the back door I heard a quail calling
"Where are you, where are you?" The
voice seemed to come from a raspberry
patch not far away. I peered at the
bushes hoping to get a sight of the
birds which continued to call and I
fancied they were getting impatient.
I was quite startled to hear a quail
answer quite near me and there in the
open yard, on the closely cut lawn-
grass not twenty feet from me was a
quail with head" erect and it walked

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

with stately step until near the bushes
where it ran swiftly and hid with its
mates. They must have concluded
that they were safe there as they did
not leave while I watched for them.

Seven quail had been seen frequently
about the barn. One ventures in and
scratches in the hay with the hens,
but always flies down into the cow
stable or among the horses when any-
one goes into the hay mow.

They had also been seen at the wood
pile near the house, and a few days
after I saw the one in the back yard
I stepped out of the living room door
to shake a rug", and frightened the
whole flock of seven quail from the as-
paragus bed not ten feet from the door.

A cotton-tail made its home in the
yard for a long time. I saw it fre-
quently after the middle of August.
Our cat chased it. She evidently did
not think she could or should kill it.
so she simply tried to frighten it away.
It ran and hid, but did not leave the
yard for a short time afterward I saw
some chickens chase it and I thought
no wonder the little creature was so
timid if every other creature tried to
frighten it. After snow came we saw
the rabbit tracks and cat tracks to-
gether and supposed that the cats
would soon kill the rabbit. But it was
not until the middle of December that
they came together.

My husband saw a cat watching
along the pathway to the gate and as
the path skirted an outbuilding he sup-
posed the cat was watching a mouse
hole. When he came back to the house
another cat came out as he opened the

door. A minute later. Daffodil, the
first cat mewed to be let in, and as
soon as it had its saucer of milk it
mewed to be let out again.

Half an hour later when breakfast
was over my husband started to the
barn but returned to tell us that we
might see something if we would keep
very quiet. We went out and saw the
two cats watching a little cotton-tad
which they had cornered. We saw
blood on the snow and some rabbit
fur also, and supposed the little fellow
was badly hurt. My little daughter
went up to the rabbit and picked it up.
It gave several cries but did not try
to get away. She brought it in the
house. I then took it to examine its
injuries. There was no blood on it
and no scratches that I could see but
a wound at the back of the neck.
While I was looking it over, Daffodil
came and putting his paws on my lap
began to lick the rabbit, washing it
carefully and not acting in the leasr.
as if he thought the rabbit was meat
for cats. The rabbit's ears were wet
and in fact it was damp all over. My
sister who was with us decided as we
also did that the cats had played with
the rabbit and when it had tried to
get away they had bit it as they do a
mouse to make it keep quiet.

Supposing the rabbit was badly hurt
my husband killed it ; but when it was
dressed the wound on the back of the
neck was found to be not very deep,
and it would in all probability have
lived. That is if the cats had not played
with it too often.

jj The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League 9

BY GEORGE KLINGLE, SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY

The annual L. H. Nature Lovers' cedent essays on nature themes were

League celebration was held at the read and appropriate musical numbers

Summit, New Jersey, High School, on were rendered by the pupils.
Arbor Day, May 7th, when many ex-

THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE.

The members of the Geological
Chapter, and others, accompanied
Doctor Henry Kurrimel, New Jersey
State Geologist, on a tramp of some
miles on Saturday, May 8th, for the
purpose of interpreting landscape in
the neighborhood of New Providence
and Chatham, New Jersey.

1 want to offer a copy of Professor
Forebush's book, entitled "Useful
Birds and Their Protection," for the
best, concise essay, submitted by mem-
bers under the age of twenty, on the
subject of "Starch : Nature's Starch
Factories." Contest closed on June
30th.

We would appreciate the favor if
our secretaries would report, not later
than June 5th, as to success in the
germination of garden seeds distribu-
ted. Reports of competition in devel-
oping best plants or of individual suc-
cesses in plant culture this season
should reach us not later than October
5th.

Early Migrations.

The mild days of February seemed
to somewhat delude the birds this
season. Many little wings were flut-
tering by unusually early. On March
4th, just beyond the writer's window,
during the bitter snow and ice storm,
an ovenbird was calling and a phoebe
was making its way over the conser-
vatory roof. Many little mistaken
ones must have perished.

We want records of these early
migrations, as well as those of summer
and autumn. Throughout our Chapters
notice was given of desire for these
records, and many have been kept.
Will our secretaries please see to it
that the early records reach us not
later than June 5th ; otherwise they
fail in full utility.

This apoeal for migration records
is extended to bird lovers who are not
members of the L. H. Nature League.

Printed schedules will be given upon
application, provided the records are
to be faithfully kept and the schedules
returned to the giver at the close of the
season.

The Fullness of Life.

All the enthusiasm of God given
force in nature is now dominant : the
birds are speeding toward their breed-
ing ground, choosing sites and twining
nests ; the trees and plants are manu-
facturing material with all rapidity to
weave into flower structures, fruit
cells, woody fibre.

Go to the woods, the garden ; sit
down somewhere and look closely at
what is going on around you. It is
probable you will see something which
you have never before observed or
which you do not understand. Find
out about it and write us that we may
share your knowledge and pleasure or
perhaps assist you in solving your
problem. We cannot all go to the
same gardens and woods but we can,
in a measure, share around the pleas-
ure we find just where we are.

Census of Wild Flowers.

Who is keeping the census of the
wild flowers? The request for this
census was passed along the line of
our Chapters, and our secretaries have
given encouraging promises. Please
make returns of records of spring not
later than June 5th ; summer and
autumn records not later than Novem-
ber 5th.

In asking for the census of the wild
flowers, a shadow seems to pass over
one — there are chiefly only the rem-
nants to be found now ; the vast wealth
of our flora is passing.

If you love the wild flower, love it
truly — wisely: leave it where it grew
that it may cast down its seeds or
multiply its bulbs and that you may
come again next year to find joy in a
richer harvest.

There are many among us who are
refraining from plucking blooms and
uprooting these wild things which
when gone will never come to the same
habitat again ; many of us who are
trying to induce others to use this
self-restraint that our ways along the
wild may be flower gardens. We
would appreciate the favor of the
names of all interested in this move-
ment.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The Art Faculty in Birds.

That birds discriminate as to color
apart from fabric is obvious. No hu-
man artist ever proved more conclu-
sively his appreciation of masses and
combination of colors than the little
artists of the air.

It would seem that soft grasses, of
whatever tone of coloring, might serve
any little bird mother in weaving her
cradle, where grasses were the favorite
material ; but the critical eye of the
little weaver selects an acceptable tone
and this alone satisfies her. If the
first strands of the nest are tawny,
or straw colored, so are the rest. If
she chooses a more serious and darker
hue, mark how the whole coincides
with the beginning. If brown be the
favorite color then the cradle is a
brown cradle and no mixture though
perhaps with some horsehair for lin-
ing, which does not interfere at all with
the external color scheme so closely
and deftly is it twined within. If the
superstructure is of twigs mark you
how the twigs must all be of a kind : there
is no mistake, no accepting anything
else which may be obtained more
easily ; the eye of the weaver must be
able to correctly discriminate between
colors — shades of coloring — when on
the hunt for twigs and grasses. If
grey is the accepted color scheme, note
how paper and flax, scraps of cotton
or wool, are blended with wasp spun
tissue ; there is nothing straw colored
or brown about it ; the whole structure
shoAvs one motive ; the whole selection
of material is directed toward an ideal
in grey.

The wood peewee's cradles, coated
with cobwebs and lichens, are fabrics
of beauty in tones of coloring only an
idealist could frame.

Observe nests woven of cotton and
shreds of hemp from untwisted rope.
What a mass of hemp is sometimes
required to build into shape such a
strong, soft nest ; it is hemp and cotton
twined in artistic companionship; there
are no discordant or varying colors.
The style of material once choosen is
clung to with persistency, no matter
what effort is required in obtaining
it.

If moss is the decorative coat of the
structure, note the perfection of the
color combination ; and there are nests,
too, twined of twigs in shades of red,
dark and rich in color, that lead one to
wonder just where the little builders
located their building supply.

Find an ovenbird's nest hidden in
the grass — that nest with its shelter-
ing dome — and think up, if you can,
any more clever color combination of
grasses and leaves than the structure
within which, though tides of rain
may sweep by, the little mother and
the baby brood are securely protected.
Observe how the drooping masses of
leaf stems, all of a color, are made
to fall over the opening, creating a
fairy-like bower.

When a nest is to be bound to twigs
for support, observe the consideration
given to harmony in color as well as
in fabric. The wood fibre, lichens or
whatever be chosen for external
weaving, and decoration of the whole,
will extend up and wrind around the
supporting twigs, forming a fitting
and decorative nest rim which no
human artist could ever hope to im-
prove upon. In this art the vireos
are experts, and indeed what could
be more captivating to the eye than
some of the fancies of these same little
builders whose work is art itself, and
whose cradles are sometimes strung
with atoms of paper banners that
chime in with wood fibre and grasses
as they flutter on threads of cobwebs.
There are birds who go beyond their
fellows in determination to develop
the ornamental. A little nest known
to the writer is twined with string and
edged with a row of mottled feathers
— a couple of dozen or more — that
stand up straight like a ruff on the
nest rim. Another is decorated on one
side with a sprig of white pine, with
all its array of needles, fastened on
tightly with a bit of dark string. One
where the beauty of leaves seems to
have been appreciated presents some-
thing of the appearance of a wreath of
brown in perfect unison with the color
scheme of the nest — a thing of beauty
no human hand could fashion to love-
lier outline.

Perhaps the oddest fancy is that of

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

a mother who must have been content
to sacrifice the comfort of her family
to her ambition to produce a unique
setting for her eggs, her very flat nest
of coarse brown twigs being orna-
mentally lined with clumps of cedar
set apart from each other, the spaces
between being filled with pieces of
white birch bark, altogether a rather
unfriendly suggestion in connection
with the little breasts of unfledged
birds, however unique and ornamental.
Perhaps the naturalist, in his enthu-

siasm concerning nature, may be right-
fully accused of sometimes elevating
certain interesting forms of humble
life to imaginary planes of intelligence,
but no observer of the work of the
nest builders, whose tasks are complet-
ed often beneath our eye, can fail to
attribute to the birds powers of dis-
crimination in color marvelous indeed
and displaying an art spirit, an ap-
preciation of color tones, which ap-
proaches the best of its kind in human
thought.

Literary

BIOGRAPHICAL

The American Animal of Photography.
1909. Volume XXIII. Edited by John
A. Tennant. New York City: Tennant
and Ward.

The "Annual" improves as the years go
by. This is replete with good material.
We congratulate the editor and the pub-
lishers. It has brought much pleasure to
our studio.

The Biography of a Silver-Fox : or, Domino
Reynard of Goldur Town. By Ernest
Thompson Seton. New York: The Cen-
tury Co.

The purpose is to show the man-world
how the fox-world lives — and above all to
advertise and emphasize the beautiful mo-
nogamy of the better-class Fox. — Author's
foreword.

And so the author tells the story from his
cub-hood to his splendid prime of that
aristocrat of foxes, Domino Reynard, and
of his wild, free, happy life among the
Goldur hills. Domino was a silver fox:

"Only those wise in the woodlore of the
North can fully know the magic in the
name. The silver fox is not of different
kind, but a glorified freak of the red race.
His parents may have been the commonest
of red foxes, yet nature in extravagant
mood may have showered all her gifts on
this favored one of the offspring, and not
only clad him in a marvelous coat, but gifted
him with speed and wind and brains above
his kind, to guard his perilous wealth. And
need he has of all such power, for this ex-
quisite robe is so mellow rich, so wonderful
in style, with its glossy black and delicate
frosting, that it is the most desirable, the
most precious of all furs, worth many times
its weight in gold, the noblest peltry known

ERNEST THOMPSON SETON

to man. It is the proper robe of kings, the
appanage of great imperial thrones to-day
as was the Tyrian purple in the days of
Rome. This is indeed the hunter's highest
prize, but so guarded by the cunning brain
and the wind and limb of the beast himself,
that it is through rare good luck more than
hunter skill that a few of these fur jewels
are taken each year in the woods."

So Domino had good need of all his cun-
ning, and his life was an adventurous one.
The story of his adventures and his cunning
is one to hold and thrill from the first page
to the last. It is the story of Snowyruff as
well as of Domino, too:

"For ages the beasts have been groping
for an ideal form of marriage. All the

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

schemes of human reverts they have tried,
and all found wanting but one. The only
satisfied the highest require-
monogamy. This is the wed-
highest kinds. The love-time
but another bond remains,
-fire of the foxes had paled a little
waning of the hunger moon, but

plan that has
ments is pure
law of all the
fever passes,
The love-
with the

a more abiding sense had supervened, even
as the sunset red on the hills may seem
more generous fire than the soft red of the
granite; but one is there a splendid moment,
the other forever and evermore. Love and
friendship men call them; and though the
flickering red light blazed "o bright at
times, it was the pale rock red that gave
its color to their lives. Domino and Snowy-

From Talk to Text: or, A Likely Story!—
Likely Enough. By Addison Ballard.
New York City: Longmans, Green and
Company.

Here are two quotations that give a sum-
mary of the spirit of the author and the
relation of the book, in its religious point
of view, to the study of nature:

"In the world-making realm the preacher
begins with God and ends with the heavens
and the earth; the philosopher begins with
the heavens and the earth and ends with
God."

"If 'On to Revelation' is the foreshadow-
ing command of Nature; 'Back to Nature'
is the confirming word of Revelation."

AN INTERESTING FOX FAMILY
From Ernest Thompson Seton's "The Biography of a Silver-Fox:
Copyright 1909 by The Century Company.

ruff were not only mates, but were friends
for life; for such is the way of the noblest
beasts, such is the way of foxes."

The telling and the illustrations are
Thompson Seton's best.

Solniell Astronomy. Being a Treatise on the
Origin of the Planets and Daylight by
Vibration. What Planets, Moons and
Comets Exist For, Also Explaining the
Working Method of the Entire Solar
System, the Object and the Use of All
the Heavenly Bodies that Hitherto Have
Been Unexplained. New York and San
Francisco, California: Albert Frederick
Schnell.

The author makes some "startling"
•claims with which most of us will not
agree. Nevertheless, one can but admire
his enthusiasm in his curious theories and
■explanations.

The Gospel in the Stars: or, Primeval As-
tronomy. By Joseph A. Seiss, D. D., LL.
D. Fourth Edition. New York City:
Charles C. Cook. Price $1.50.

This book seems to me misnamed. From
the title I supposed it to be the good news,
the inspiration, etc., of the stars. Some
one should write a book from that point of
view for the stars themselves have a gospel,
an uplifting effect upon those who read
aright.

Dr. Seiss has attempted a task that he
in the opening line refers to as one that
may "seem adventurous" — to read the
Gospel of Christ from the stars from what
Herschel calls "those uncouth figures and
outlines of men and monsters usually scrib-
bled over celestial globes and maps." He
makes a good argument and shows not a
little ingenuity in working out this attempt.

RECREATION * VOL II JUNE, 1909 No. 3 4* EDUCATION

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

THE FIRST ANNUAL SESSION

of the

ARCADIA SUMMER SCHOOL

OF NATURE

BEGINS : MONDAY, JUNE 21st
ENDS: FRIDAY, JULY 9th ::

Young Folks in Forenoon Adults in Afternoon

"TERMS?" DO YOU INQUIRE?
You pay what you can afford or is fair, and study what you wish.
You do the best you can in pay or study, and we will do the best
we can in accommodations and assistance. Better write or call for
particulars. Address:

EDWARD F. BIGELOW, ARCADIA, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION, ARCADIA, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

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PUBLISHERS NOTICES

New Home and Enlarged Work.
We have now moved the office of
The Guide to Nature from No. 47
Willow Street, Stamford, Connecti-
cut, (where it has been for a little
more than tAvo months) to Arcadia,
Sound Beach, Connecticut. This
number is mailed at the post office in
Sound Beach and is, so far as we
know, the first magazine ever publish-
ed in this place.

WHAT IS ARCADIA?

Arcadia is the nature institution
(supplied by a philanthropist as was
announced in the January number of
The Guide to Nature) consisting of
several portable buildings on more than
a half acre of land situated in the busi-
ness center of Sound Beach, next door
to the post office and near the rail-
road station. The Stamford trolley
cars ^Glenbrook and Shippan) pass
the doors and directlv or by transfer
4ake passengers to all parts of Sound
Beach, Stamford and Greenwich.

Arcadia has two distinct purposes :

1. It is the home of The Agassiz
Association, an international incor-
poration. The charter says:

'The nurpose for which the corpo-
ration is constituted is the promotion
of scientific education ; the advance-
ment of science ; the collection in
museums of natural and scientific
soecimens ; the employment of ob-
servers and teachers in the different
departments of science, and the gen-
eral diffusion of knowledge."

This was established in 1875 ar>d m~
coroorated in 1892. It is the oldest
and largest institution in existence for
encouraging popular nature study. It
has no help nor sympathy for miserly
hoarding of knowledge, gathered at
enormous expense, but it desires to
make every dollar count to the best
advantage and for the benefit of those
who most need it. The income of the
AA is derived from the usual maga-
zine income of the The Guide to

Nature, from the tenancy of E. F.
Bigelow (see 2 below) and from mem-
bership fees, direct gifts, etc. The
officers are as follows :

Edward P. Bigelow, Sound Beach, Con-
necticut; President.

Harlan H. Ballard, Originator and for
thirty-three years President, Pittsfield,
Massachusetts; Ex-President; Personal
Adviser.

Hiram E. Deats, "Founder" of AA Incor-
poration, 1892, by gift of $5,000, Fleming-
ton, New Jersey; Business Adviser.

Honorable Homer S. Cummings, Stam-
ford, Connecticut; Secretary.

Walter D. Daskam, Stamford, Connecti-
cut; Treasurer.

Dr. David Starr Jordan, President Leland
Stanford Junior University, Palo Alto, Cali-
fornia; Dean of AA Council.

Dr. Leland O. Howard, Chief of Bureau
of Entomology of the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. O;
Naturalist Adviser.

Reverend Charles Morris Addison, Stam-
ford, Connecticut.

Dr. George Sherrill, Stamford, Connecti-
cut.

No officer of the AA receives a
salary. The association is purely a
philanthropic, "missionary" nature-
work so far as it aids those who need
aid and cannot pay for it. Every cent
of income is placed on the "Received"
side of our cash book. On the "Paid"
side are only actual expenses — paoer,
printing, engraving, mailing. This
book is audited once a year by mem-
bers of the incorporation and is open
at all times to inspection of any con-
tributor or AA member.

2. Arcadia contains the residence
and is the personal, working head-
quarters of Edward F. Bigelow in the
preparation of "Nature and Science"
of "St. Nicholas" and other nature-
study work for which pay is received.
From that fact the question might be
asked (although up to the present time
it has not been asked), "If I aid Ar-
cadia, am I not to an extent aiding
you in earning" a living for yourself
and family? If so, then there is no
more reason in my aiding Arcadia by
gifts or membership fees, than thus to

ADVERTISEMENT.

aid a blacksmith or a grocer in his
business, for their work as well as
yours is a benefit to humanity."

This possible objection may be dis-
posed of in advance. Three of the
buildings of Arcadia were moved from
my personal equipment in Stamford.
In these I do much of my work and
the AA gets full benefit free of ex-
pense, thus offsetting to a small degree
some of the other personal facilities
that I use. For my home and certain
other conveniences I purpose to pay
into the treasury of the AA exactly
the same rental that I formerly paid
in the city of Stamford for similar
accommodations.

Therefore your gifts are asked not
to aid me personally but for the great
organization, the AA. of which I am
president, without salary. The mem-
bers of my family and others as well
as I contribute labor, time and money
to that organization and its work,
without pecuniary remuneration but
only for the joy of doing. In that
meritorious work I appeal to your
philanthropy.

An esoecial anneal is made to resi-
dents of Sound Beach. Arcadia will
be o'^en to all visitors from 4.00 to
6.00 P. M. on Wednesdays and from
2.00 to 6.00 P. M. on Sundays. To
members and contributors it is open at
all times.

Will you aid us in making it more
interesting and beneficial to all ? We
anticipate a need of $5,000 a year for
publishing, for assistants, and for the
live stock, with their care and food.
There are also other expenses impos-
sible to be mentioned here in detail.
But the entire plant, its workings,
and its needs are freely open to all
who are interested, and especially to
those disposed to help.

A Study in Cotton.

Mrs. A. G. Helmer, 11 Arthur Street,
Atlanta, Georgia, suplies for one
(Si. 00) dollar an ideal outfit for study-
ing cotton as follows :
M mature Bale,
Box of Seed,
. Box of Seed Hulls.
Box of Seed Meal,
Cotton Flower Photograph,
Cotton Leaf and Green Boll Photo-
graph,

Vial of Crude Oil,
Vial of Refined Oil,
Natural Ripe Boll and Some Loose
Locks.

She also gives the following inter-
esting data as to cotton statistics :

"The census report shows amount
cotton ginned to January 16, 1909, to
have been 9,998,000 bales.

"The South last year exported 41
per cent, of the value of the exports
of the whole country — a total of $614,-
900,000.

"Of course, the greatest commodity
was cotton. Cotton to the value of
$379,965,014 was sent to other coun-
tries; cotton seed oil, $15,125,082; cot-
ton seed cake and meal, $13,897,178,

" 'Cotton Seed and Its Products,' is-
sued by Department of Agriculture
under title of Farmers Bulletin No.
36, is very helpful in connection with
this study. A postal card addressed
to that department, Washington, D.
C, will obtain it."

WANTED — Photographs and articles of interest to children
for my Nature and Science of St. Nicholas Magazine or
for adults for the Guide to Nature. Please send for ex-
amination whatever you may have, or submit lists and outlines,
of what you can supply Edward F. Bigelow, Sound Beach, Ct.

The Condor

A Magazine of Western Ornithology.

Edited by J. Grinnell.

Associate Editors:

William L. Finley Robert B. Rockwell

"Official Organ of the Cooper Ornithological
Club."

Vol. XI, 1909

will contain the usual interesting articles
by live active ornithologists and will be
illustrated by the highest class of half
tones. You cannot afford to miss a num-
ber.

Published bi-monthly at Hollywood,
California. Subscription: $1.50 per year
net in advance. Single copies: 30c each.
Foreign subscription: $1.75.

J. Eugene Law, Business Manager

Hollywood, California.

W. Lee Chambers, Assistant Manager,

Santa Monica, California,

"Ctucl) 3cb war in Ctrcabta gcboren." — "Travels in Italy' by Goethe.

The monogram of the AA weaves into Arcadia.

ArcAdiA

Our beloved AA. is the beginning and
center, the center and end, and the be-
ginning and end of the new nature Arca-
dia. In fact, the principle of The Agassiz
Association, "study nature, not books,"
was the foundation of Arcadia: it is our
constant aim, and it permeates all our
work.

^o<cz>oo<zr>oo<ci>o()<z>oo^=>oo<^^

UO<I^0<Z=>O<><Z>O0<Z^(<I=>O(K^

o
o

o
<=>

i AN ENTHUSIASTIC STUDENT OF ASTRONOMY

/ EDGAR LUCIEN LARKIN \

> Director Lowe Observatory, Echo Mountain, Cal. <

Author "Radiant Energy" I

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A MODERN FABLE.
And the Minister preached and became eloquent about all the Glories, Manifestations
and Inspirations of God's Universe. He told Parables and drew Arguments from the Natur-
al World. He sang in Stanzas of the Magnitude of the Stars and of the Exquisite Perfec-
tions of the Flower. And the Entire Congregation heartily said, "Amen !"

And, Behold ! A Listener went forth to Test the Truth, to Realize all these Sayings.
Then Humanity passed along and said, " He has a Bug House; there are Wheels in his Head;
he Delves in Things Uncanny." And even the Minister passed by and remarked, " Why you
Thought I Actually Meant all I Said !"

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

JUNE, 1909

No. 3

ITHE OUTDOOR WoRLD

The Delights of Cruising

BY BURNHAM W. KING, NEW YORK

HE Captain had planned the dians, hence they must be cousins.

whole winter through to take Cousin Joe alwa)^s answered to his

the Fat One who could not new name and spoke of the others as

help it and seemed contented his cousins. On occasions when pass-

with his lot, and his Charm- ing other Indians the Captain, first

ing Wife, who, bless her asking Joe what to say in Objibway,

heart, had put in a long, would call out a salute in their native

hard winter trying to keep tongue, so he got the credit of being

the Fat One good-natured and happy, on able to speak the vernacular with very

a cruise in his sailboat equipped with little knowledge of his own of Objib-

a gasoline engine in case the wind way.

should play false, also a small cabin What a list of supplies were loaded

large enough for Fat One and Charm- into the boat ! Such an amount of

ing Wife while the Captain and Old baggage ! It looked like preparations

Bill slept ashore in a tent. Old Bill for a trip around the world. Georgian

was so called because he was still Bay is a charming snot for campers,

young and of sufficient size to handle Everything one could wish can be

three square meals every day, a ca- found in these waters — small mouth

pacity that was forever a source of envy black bass, muscallonge, pike, perch,

to the Fat One during the entire cruise. And such blueberries, large as — well,

Then there was Cousin Joe, the Indian not quite the size of walnuts, but large

guide and cook, so called because he enough and delicious and to be found

and the Captain had taken many everywhere. For variety there were

cruises together and the Caotain's raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries,

friends said they both looked like In- currants, juneberries, partridge berries,

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

'BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE"

THE INVITATION: "ALL ABOARD."

wintergreen and finally mint, which
while being neither fish nor fowl was a
very necessary adjunct to — well, ask
any man south of the Mason
Dixon line. Such memories
haunt mpl
ment.

and

that

me! Old Bill was in his ele-

Had he not lived many years

in the south, and do not the young
learn by absorption? Anyway Old
Bill shall never be forgotten while mint
grows. ( )ur camp fires were built of
all sizes according to our moods. We
had the little cheerful friendship fire
— just to light up the kindly faces that
gathered around it, each face giving
back its reflected light of friendship and
warmth that is always reserved for
such occasions. Then there was the
comfort fire — logs of yellow and white
birch added to the blaze by their
resinous vapors bright tongues of blue
and white flame. Sometimes one
would add a chestnut log to the fire.
What a shower of sparks and crackling
it made ! It was soon removed. Was
not this a comfort fire and who wants
to be dodging sparks all the evening?

The cooking fire Avas the most im-
portant event of the day ; dry limbs
from fallen trees or branches make a
good hot fire and a few of them at the
right snot soon have the meal under
way. What more can you ask of any
fire? The Captain had a folding baker,
and, sneaking of folding, everything
he had was folding — cot, chairs, ax.
knife, table, cooking kit and even the
blankets came under this category.
The baker was a wonder, to hear trie
Captain explain it to Charming Wife.

She, poor, confiding girl, became en-
thusiastic. "I'll stir up the best John-
ny cake you boys ever tasted," she
said.

"Well, why don't you?" said Fat
One; and she did but you shall judge.

Charming Wife seemed to the boys
to be one of those natural born mixers
— perhaps cooks is a better word.
Chicken feed, no, I mean corn meal,
seemed to be the chief article used.
With awe we watched her deft fingers
adding butter, salt, pepper, baking
powder. Old Bill said afterward she
put in chili sauce but I'll not stand
for such blasphemy. She stirred up the
mess and put it in the baker and the
Captain carefully placed the baker in
front of the fire where the reflected
heat was to do the rest. Now fifteen
minutes was to do the trick. Fat One
held the watch while Charming Wife
was the center of a group of anxious
watchers.

'Time's up," said Fat One, but a
stick run into the cake showed it needed
more heat. Captain put the baker
nearer the fire : the cake commenced
to burn on the side next the flames ;
it was left, however, because the other
side of the cake needed more cooking.
At last it was decided by the council
of cooks that it must be ready.

In the meantime, we had such a hot
fire that Cousin Joe could not get near
it, and the rest of the dinner already
prepared, having been withdrawn to a
safe distance, had gotten cold ; but
what do campers care for such trifles!
The hot fire and hot sun had warmed

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

us enough to make up for any short-
coming's of the food.

Charming" Wife tried to pry up the
"Johnny cake" on the burnt side; it
was a mass of blackened corn meal.
Then she tried the other side ; it was
half cooked dough. She looked the
picture of woe ; tears of mortification
came to her eyes ; she swallowed hard a
couple of times, loked at the baker and
then turned such a look of scorn at
the Captain that he was almost undone.
Meantime Fat One came to the rescue
— some part between the burned spot
and the dough line was edible, pieces
of which he actually ate ; but much as
we loved eating we could not follow
his example. The Captain followed
Charming* Wife' glances with his eyes
and the secret was out — the back of
the baker was open and the heat which
should have been reflected up was al-
lowed to go out. Now the Captain is
willing but Charming Wife will not
speak to him or listen to any explana-
tion.

Part of our supplies consisted of a
crate of eggs, and some of them must
have been well seasoned nest eggs.
Our party usually had soft boiled eggs
for breakfast. One morning every one
but Old Bill had eaten their supply !
he seemed to be holding off" and filling
up on other things. Finally he came
to the eggs ; he reached out, selected
a fine looking one and broke it. We

heard a few carelessly selected words
and saw an egg flying into the bushes
over his head. Not a word was spoken
by the rest of us. Old Bill tried again ;
this time we left the table with the
egg, being careful to take the opposite
direction. Not being easily dis-
couraged Old Bill looked over the rest
of the eggs carefully, broke another
one and one of the commandments at
the same time and left the table in
disgust. It was several days before
eggs were served again.

Between being nicely bitten by mos-
quitoes, wdiich have a way of getting
in under nets supposed to keep them
out, and well burned by the sun, that
shines so hot on the water, we had a
fairly good time.

Sometimes we tried to eat one item
of the bill of fare so hot we could
hardly handle it, and while it was
cooling off the rest of the meal got
stone cold ; but half an hour after the
meal was over, who cared for such
trifles!

How good our pipes seemed as w~e
lounged in the shade of some tree.
How can a thing so delightful taste
so bad for a long time afterwards ?

On our way home we ran on a reef,
and for a while it looked as if we would
have to swim for shore but patience
and plenty of muscle finally got us
free and on our way again.

The last day we ran into a storm.

POSSIBILITIES

THE JOY OF HAVING

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

How the wind blew; the rain came
down in sheets ! Charming Wife re-
tired into the cabin where she was
soon mixed up with satchels, cots, food
and the rain that blew in from a broken
porthole. She was game, however,
and never murmured ; at least, Fat One
said he could hear nothing and the
Captain and Old Bill were too polite
to listen.

We had dressed in our ''store
clothes" that morning, expecting to
take the noon train fifteen miles away,
so were not exactly prepared for the
storm that broke suddenly upon us.

The waves lifted the stern so high
out of the water that the wheel would
race and the boat lose headway. We
surely had our hands full of boat and
our clothing full of water before we
reached the dock.

Charming AVife was separated from
loose articles in the cabin with dif-
ficulty. Fat One tried hard to smother
a grin as he saw she needed a few
slight repairs, but his smile ceased
when she coldly called attention to his
own wet clothing. Old Bill busy with
unloading the baggage, his face red
and covered with perspiration, was
asked innocently by Charming Wife,
why now that we had arrived he did
not wipe the rain off his face. But Old
Bill very much occupied at the time,
getting her dress suit case off the boat,
only gave a glance which should have
withered her.

The Captain, hustling the rest of the
party on the train, sat down on the
edge of the platform, exhausted and
wet, while into his brain seemed to
come, floating through the air from
the train, these words: "We have had
such a nice time." But his conscience
was seared and the sarcasm never
reached him.

Nature and Humanity.

I hone the da}- will come when it
shall be considered as commendable
to dissect a lake or brook as a latuirus
or brokinoptus. To climb a mountain
and gain a view is as "scientific" as
to "shin" a tree and photograph a nest.
Get nature — large or small — in your
own way and be improved by the get-
tin 2f.

Camping in Bear Canyon, Sandia
Mountains, New Mexico.

BY C. E. KEXSEY, D.D.S., ALBUQUERQUE,
NEW MEXICO.

The accompanying picture shows an
ideal camp, both in location and equip-
ment, and the five weeks that the
writer spent in this delightful spot dur-
ing July and August last year still
lingers in pleasant memories.

The altitude of this place is 7000
feet and, on up to "Rim rock" which
is shown in the background, being
10000 feet and was a days journey
there and back from this camp.

Located near a large spring, the
water of which was clear and cold as it
came bubbling out of the rocks. A
small stream ran close by and its rip-
pling waters seemed like music at
night.

On awakening in the early morn
could see the sun rise over the distant
ridge and the voices of robins and
mocking birds filled the air in one
grand chorus. Could see squirrels run
up the sides of huge boulders from my
cot in tent and goats jumping from one
ledge to another in search of tender
green boughs.

Although alone "dame nature" her-
self robed in all her grandeur was suf-
ficient company. The fragrance from
the pines and the pure moutain air
seemed to permeate ones whole being
and an appetite for bacon and beans
was not lacking.

Large pine cones were easy to gather
and made a quick hot fire in a little
sheet iron camp stove. There were no
flies or mosquitoes to bother and to an
old camper this means a great deal.

The nights were rather cool for mid-
summer and twro army blankets and a
comforter felt good towards morning.

A "fly" for a tent is indispensable for
it rains in the mountains considerable
in the summer season, and one of the
hardest hail storms I ever experienced
came up suddenly one afternoon about
four o'clock and lasted about thirty
minutes and left about five inches of
hail on the ground ; next day however,
was bright and warm.

Many people go out to these moun-
tains from Albuquerque during the

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

A CAMP IN BEAR CANYON, SANDIA MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO.

summer and some stay the whole sea-
son.

"If thou art worn and hard beset.
With sorrows, that thou wouldst

forget ;
If thou wouldst read a lesson, that

will keep
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul

from sleep
Go to the woods and hills ! No tears
Dim the sweet look that nature wears."

A Honey Tree and Its Two Guests.

BY OLIVE THORNE MILLER, GARVANZA,
CALIFORNIA.

In front of my home in Southern
California stands one of the beautiful
trees of the country — a grevillia. It
is tall and shapely and green the year
around, with graceful, fine-cut foliage,
and through May and June it is really
splendid with exquisite clusters of blos-
soms of a dark gold color.

Looked at from below, the clusters
with which the tree is loaded appear
to be in the shape and about the size
of a human hand, held out horizontally.

and closely examined they are as won-
derful as they are beautiful.

One hand — as I will call it — which
I had for close study was composed
of three finger-like parts, three or four
inches long, held a little away from
each other, and literally packed with
bloom, one finger in full flower, while
.the other two were still in bud, prom-
ising a long season of blossoming.

The buds — more than seventy on
each finger and all of the same rich
color of the opened flower — were about
the size of the head of a common pin
and stood close together upon stems
nearlv half an inch lono-.

But the finger containing open flow-
ers was most remarkable and impos-
sible to describe. Being Nature's
work it is unnecessary to say that the
tiny blossoms were as perfect in form
and color as the largest flower that
opens to the sun, and, and each one
held conspicuously out to view a min-
ute drop of glistening honey in a tiny
cun of rich crimson.

To this tree with its myriad treasure
cu;)s we owe a great pleasure — the

THE GUIDE TO NATURE,

daily visits of our two orioles, Bul-
lock's oriole, a gorgeous fellow in bril-
liant gold and black, and the hooded
oriole, scarcely less showy. Both these
birds are extravagantly fond of sweets
and both spend hours every day at the
feast spread out for them, so that we
learn to know them well.

OLIVE THORNE MILLER

The singing of the western orioles
is peculiar and in marked contrast to
the loud, clear songs of the Baltimore
and orchard orioles of the eastern
states. In both species the only songs
I have heard in nearly four years' study
of them, have been very low, of a
strange, weird, "squeaky" character
impossible to describe, and delivered
in jerky, inconsequent fashion though
with all the airs and graces of a stage
performance.

One day I caught the hooded, who
is the more abundant in this vicinity.

in a queer little display. He was stand-
ing in a sort of nook or niche formed
by several branches of a live-oak tree,
and so hidden that he could be seen
only from one point, where fortunately
I happened to be sitting, partially con-
cealed by a spreading vine.

He was apparently exerting all his
musical powers accompa-
nied by the action of a pub-
lic performance, turning
from side to side, bowing
this way and that, posing
as if before an audience,
opening and closing his
beak, evidently a most e-
laborate performance ; and
with all this show, he ut-
tered no sound that I could
hear twenty feet away, in
the perfect stillness of a
summer day on a lonely
orange ranch. It was the
most curious and uncanny
exhibition I ever saw.

Another time, being at-
tracted by very low, discon-
nected bird notes outside
my window. I cautiously
peeped out and saw an ori-
ole going with great delib-
eration over a rose vine
which covered the end of
the piazza, snapping up
aphides and whispering his
quaint song between the
mouthfuls, a sort of solilo-
quy. It was exactly as a
person will sometimes go
about his work "humming"
a song to himself as he
goes.
It is plain to see that these two
orioles are "characters" with habits
and ways of their own, which I hope
some dav to know better.

For, Not To.

A pair of quail when first put in
the cage went rushing and fluttering
around for a few days. Now they
really live and grow in the cage. I
wonder whether au-tomobilists will
ever quiet down after the first years
of novelty and really live; will then
go for something, not merely to a place.

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

An Interesting Crab's Claw.

BY ROBERT GREENLEAF LEAVITT, NEW

JERSEY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL

AT TRENTON.

The editor of this journal has kindly
given me a deformed crab's claw in
which I became interested through
the publication of a brief mention of it
in "St. Nicholas" for December, 1907.
The claw is interesting because it goes
with a number of other things to throw
a somewhat new light, or let us say a
little light from a new direction, upon
the process by which an animal's body
is built up. If the principle of the
matter is pointed out, readers of The
Guide to Nature will be likely to find
other examples ; and if they will
carefully describe, and especially if
they will carefully illustrate, their dis-
coveries and publish them, they may
make real contributions to science.

The claw was found at Stonington,
Connecticut, and brought to notice by
Miss E. P. Loper. The remarkable
feature is an addition, in the form of a
small pincer, near the extremity of the
movable joint or dactyl. This small
organ copies each detail of the larger
one faithfully as to the shape and re-
lative size of the two parts, as to the
teeth and as to the nature and col-
oration of the hard material composing
the extremities of the pincer-arms.
Only in one respect is there an es-
sential difference : in the small pincer
the dactyl is not movable at the base,
as it is in the larger one. The pincer
is therefore useless. Indeed it must
have been an inconvenience to its pos-
sessor.

Such malformations have several
times been noted in the claws of lob-
sters. It seems pretty certain that they
arise in the healing' of wounds inflict-
ed when the animal is freshly moulted
and its limbs are soft.

It is well known that crustaceans
have a good deal of the power of re-
generation. Whole limbs may be
replaced. In a case like the one before
us, it was to have been expected that
the wound would fill up. It was not to
have been expected that the growth
from the torn edges would take the
form of a nearly perfect claw.

The new member imitates another,
previously existent, organ. Such ab-
normal mimicry, or borrowing of
character by one region from another,
has been called by "William Hateson
of England, Homoeosis. He detected
it in several monstrous formations ; for
example, in turbots displaying upon
the lower surface features proper to
the upper side. Weismann, the Ger-
man zoologist, has argued that the
markings on certain segments of a
species of caterpillar originated in a
like manner by transference from other
segments. The present writer has
pointed out (Botanical Gazette, Jan-
uary, 1909) the probable derivation of
some normal structures in plants by
Homoeosis, or translocation of char-
acters. In cases noted in plants
Homoeosis has, apparently, proved to
be hereditary.

The special interest of our crab's
claw lies, as already suggested, in its
relation to the development of form
in growing parts, and its bearing on
the theory of such development pro-
posed by Weismann.

The evolution of the body with its
myriad cells of different kinds — nerve,
muscle, bone cells, etc., etc. — and with
its numerous and often complex or-
gans, all developed from a minute egg
of simple form, in which the features
of the adult organization are utterly
absent, is a most mysterious process.
\\ ny do all the parts develop in their
proper sequence and compose a har-
monious whole rather than a shapeless
mass of cells ? No one can as yet
answer this question.

The evolution is guided from within,
for the growing organism is not run
in a mold but assumes its shape with-
out the aid of external formative pres-
sures. The process is supposed to be
fundamentally a mechanical one, and
theories of the mechanism have been
attempted. Most speculators have
imagined that small bodies exist in
the cells, capable of determining the
forms of the bodily members — germi-
nal bodies, gemmules (i.e., little buds)
or determinants. Each part of the
bodv is supposed to have its particu-
lar germinals. It may be supposed
that in the egg all the determinants

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

for a perfect body are present. Such
has been the idea of Darwin and other
natural philosophers of the first rank.

THE CRAB'S CLAW

Weismann has constructed the most
elaborate of present day theories as to
the nature of these germinal particles
and the method of their distribution to
the proper parts of the developing
body. "When the organism is com-
pleted the determinants are, accord-
ing to this hypothesis, thoroughly dis-
tributed, and each small region of the
system has in it only the determinants
proper to that region. Yet as some
parts of the body are liable to be
broken off— such as the appendages of
the lobster or the brittle tail of the sal-
amander— nature has here and there
provided reserve funds of deter-
minants. The first formed leg or tail
being accidentally lost, these reserve
determinants come into play and cause
the tissues which sprout out to take
the right form.

Such theorizing doubtless seems
very speculative. Yet just these bold
guesses at the invisible factors of the
process have led the way to most fruit-
ful researches. This is the reason for
thinking that it pays to discuss them.

Let us see how Homoeosis as ex-
hibited by our crab's claw affects the
idea of Weismann that the determi-
nants, allowing that such bodies really
exist, are thoroughly sorted out and
distributed to their appropriate bodily
members in development, and so be-
come the means of making the parts
take their proper shapes.

If the determinants or governors of
form are sorted out into each bodily
member according to its kind, then a
given piece of a crab's claw should
have only the determinants for that
particular piece, as, for example, the
back of the dactyl. Or. at most, it
may have a certain supply over and

above the demands of first growth, to
guide a second if that is required by
the loss of the original piece of claw.
And if that piece is lost, by the theory
only that piece can grow again in that
place, the determinants of all other
bodily parts being absent from this
one.

But when our crab gets into a quar-
rel with a neighbor and the neighbor
bites out a portion of his claw, and
when the wound edges, irritated by
the removal, proceed to build up the
breach, behold, the growing tissues
take not the form suitable for filling in
the gap, but of almost an entire claw,
teeth and all ! In these growing tis-
sues, therefore, there must be, if we
grant that there are any such govern-
ing bodies at all, the determinants for
a nearly complete claw.

These particles must be in the wound
edges; for from these all the growth
starts. And we must suppose that
they were there before the wound was
made. Suppose the wound to have been
a very little deeper or less deep or a
little to the right or left of the place
where it actually occurred. Would
the new growth still have been a nearlv
perfect claw? In all nrobability it
would have been so. Then we must
suppose that cells throughout this par-
ticular region contain determinants, if
any, for a whole or nearly a whole
claw.

This conclusion, the reader will see,
is much against the idea of the strict
distribution and sorting out of form
giving particles in the development of
the body.

Perhaps there are no such special
form governors residing within the
cells of the tissues. But if not, how
then is the growth and development
of the body managed with such pre-
cision that not once in hundreds of
thousands does any part fail to arise
in its proper place or to take on the
shape, color, etc., which it should have?

We cannot think of any such thing
as ideas, apart from substance and
structure, transmitted from generation
to generation. If we say, "Law," then
the law must have something material
to execute it. We know nothing of
biological law anart from material

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

structures transmitted in heredity; nor
can we clearly imagine such a thing.
All experience and knowledge lead us
toward the conclusion that the devel-
opment of the new individual into the
likeness of its parent must be brought
about by some mechanism existing first
in the egg, as the egg of this crab, and
passing thence to each cell of the body
derived from that cell. It seems nec-
essary to imagine microscopic form
determiners in the cells. And how
shall we escape thinking that they
must be separated out so as to have
their due effects, and make in each
region of the body only that structure
appear which should be there in order
that the whole body may do its work?

Yet the few cases of Homoeosis that
we know in animals certainly suggest
that in some parts more than the local
form factors may be present.

Who can bring forward more evi-
dence from nature along this import-
ant line of inquiry? Insects should
occasionally show a translocation of
characters from one part of the body
to another. Search in insect collec-
tions and in the field for cases of Hom-
oeosis— antennae transformed to legs,
wings to legs, legs to antennae — and
let us hear about them.

very common in Texas, a species known
to science as Mygale hentzi, and here
shown in our half-tone illustration,
reproduced from a photograph of a
specimen collected in that state. It
is taken life size, and it is a spider
held in the greatest dread by most
people in the region where it occurs.
The bite of this particular form, how-
ever, does not seem ever to be followed
by any very dangerous symptoms, and
never by death. There are in South
America some tarantulas very much
larger than ours, one especially called
the "bird-spider" which is able to prey
upon small birds. Big tarantulas are
also found in tropical regions through-
out the world, but they belong to very
different genera of the group. Most
of the large ones are hairy, and some
of them are poisonous, as for example
the giants of the tribe which we meet
with in Java and Sumatra. Many are
highly colored and most striking in
appearance, quite awe-inspiring to the
timid beholder. Others construct very
remarkable nests, and the famous
"trapdoor spider" belongs to a group
of tarantulas, and the singular nest it
builds is doubtless well known to many
of the readers of this article, as the col-
lectors of such objects frequently bring
them awav with them from the south

A Bit of Spider Lore.

BY DR. R. W. SHUKKLDT, WASHINGTON".
D. C.

When we go as far back into history
as we can for all nations, we find that
there has been enough written on the
subject of spiders to make up thou-
sands of books or fill many a big library.

A large part of this literature is illus-
trated, yet myraids of spiders in nearly
all parts of the world are entirely un-
known to science, and enough yet re-
mains to be ascertained with respect
to their habits to fill many another
score of volumes in the future.

Of all the genera and species of spid-
ers none have attracted wider atten-
tion than the famous tarantulas, of
which there are many kinds possessing
the most diverse habits. We have
some great hairy tarantulas in this
country but they are confined to the
south-western section of it. One is

TEXAN TARANTULA
(M. hentzi.)

Photographed from life by Mr. S. Emmet
Robertson.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

of Europe. Indeed ( as a matter of fact,
some very interesting tarantular his-
tory has for several generations been
associated with that part of the world,
if not for a much longer time. For in-
stance, the dance known as "tarentella,
which derives its name from Taranto,
a city of southern Italy, also called the
tarantula dance, is associated with

sufficient ground to indulge in it. This
belief only holds among the most su-
perstitious, and as an infallible cure
for tarantism, or tarantismus as it was
also called, it has long been abandoned
to form a part of the history of similar
fables.

Texas tarantulas possess a formid-
able foe in a big wasp, Pompilus forino-

PEASANTS DANCING THE TARANTELLA IN ONE OF THE HOTELS IN ITALY

these great spiders. South European
tarantulas are different from ours, and
belong to another genus, the best
known species of which is "Lycosa
tarantula." The bite of this creature
is dreaded throughout the country
where it is found. A person when bit-
ten by one is said to be tarantulated or
suffering from "tarantism," and to be
saved from this fatal disease the afore-
said dance was invariably resorted to.
As we know, the tarentella is a wild.
whirling and rapid dance, accompanied
by music, in which two take part, and
was very prevalent during the sixteenth
century. In some localities it was
known as the tarantelle, and it actually
spread through southern Europe as a
species of mania, the mere thought on
the part of any person that they had
been bitten by a tarantula was quite

sus, that stings and thus paralyze many
of these spiders, and afterwards often
drag them into their subterranean
nest, for food for their larva, which is
hatched out in these cavities.

A Curious Grape Gall.

BY W. T. WELL, FRANKLIN, PA

For many years, a grape vine which is
trained alonsr the sides and end of a
dwelling house here, has produced an
abundance of very fragrant flowers, but
has never borne any fruit An examina-
tion of the flowers proved, as was ex-
pected, that they were all statninate.

Recently, several strange fruitlike clus-
ters were noticed, situated in the axils
of the leaves, where the grape clusters
should have been : but the several sec-
tions of each bunch were all attached to

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

the branch on which they grew, near the The excrescences are greenish in color,

same place; and were not racemed, as somewhat conical in shape, but trunca-

grapes are. ted or terminating abruptly; and are

An incision across one of these sections covered with a soft down, as may be

THE GRAPE-VINE FILBERT GALL
(Cecidomyia coryloides.)

disclosed orange-colored larvae encysted noticed in the illustration ; and they seem
in its substance ; proving them to be the to be of the same firm substance through-
result of eggs deposited in the flowers of out. and are not spongy inside, as oak
the grape by a species of gall fly. galls are.

THE LENS

A Plant That Catches Insects For
Food.

There are several plants that catch
insects for food, but perhaps the small-
est, prettiest and having the most in-
teresting method is the sundew
(Droscra rotundi folia). This plant is
common in certain sandy and sunny
marshes, where it blooms in July and
August. It has an onen rosette of
leaves, near the ground, clothed with

reddish, bristly hairs each tipped with
a purple gland. These hairlike ten-
tacles are for catching insects that are
attracted by the flower-like color or
perhaps by the odor of the leaves.
These apnarently sensitive bodies close
over an insect and hold it down by
means of a viscid secretion that exudes
from the' glands. Even tentacles not
touched by the insect curve toward it
and ultimately aid in this. How do

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

» »

THE LEAF OF THE SUNDEW

the tentacles that are not touched know
that the object on another part of the
leaf is good for food, and exactly which
way to bend so as to reach it? It is
difficult to deceive the tentacles. They
will bend toward nutritious sub-
stances, but not much, if any, toward
useless material such as a shower of
rain or of sand. Even if they do at
first bend inward or start to do so.

they quickly discover the mistake, rise
again and in no case secrete the diges-
tive fluid until they have positive
knowledge that the thing is good for
food.

Darwin experimented extensively
with these plants and had some inter-
esting experiences in giving them in-
digestion by overfeeding.

ONE OF THE TENTACLES MAGNIFIED

Peculiar Metamorphosis of the To-
bacco Beetle.

13Y R. MENGER, M. D., SAX AXTOXIO.
TEXAS.

Air. P. G. Lucas, the proprietor of
a fine drug store in San Antonio, in
assorting tobacco handed me two sam-
ples which had been perforated and
otherwise multilated by very minute
insects, one cigar in particular being
of much interest as it contained larval
vestiges. The latter I gave close at-
tention since I was aware that it was
the larval state of the tobacco beetle.
The second cigar contained three such
larvae lying snugly in furrows they
had prepared by their active jaws I
subjected part of this cigar with the
larvae to a close focus photographic
reproduction with extra near focusing
lens. The result is seen in the illus-
tration herewith submitted to The;
Guide to Nature (Fig. i ) showing the
cigar and the imbedded larvae mag-
nified about three times with outlines
of the feet and head (in the upper spec-
imen) about to transform into the
puna state of development.

When under the powerful rays of a
bull's-eye reflector in this attempt to
photographically reproduce these lar-
vae in situ, they became quite lively
and, fearing the result would be spoil-
ed, I dropped some chloroform near
the furrows, when they ceased mov-
ing at once. The photograph shows
the larvae in their natural position as
they had not been touched.

Near these larval tobacco beetles
are seen some holes and furrows which
the mature beetles and afterward these
developing larvae had prenared. It
seems that during the fall and winter
the mature insects perforate the to-
bacco and also other material such as
food stufTs and drugs, producing a

SEEING BY AID OF THE LEXS.

fig l.

CIGAR WITH TOBACCO LARVAE

IMBEDDED IN FURROWS OF THE

TOBACCO

round, deep hole not larger than the
body of the insect, and then deposit
the ova inside the tunneled holes when
after a certain length of time the larvae
seen on the plug cut tobacco and the
cigar specimen develop. This process
has been witnessed off and on years
ago and again lately by the writer when
the furrows of these beetles had been
exposed in tobacco and some drugs,
either of which they feed upon but
with preference for the tobacco and
usually for the best brand of tobacco
goods.

These minute insects are occasion-
ally and numerously found in dried

vegetable drugs and household goods.
But lately my friend, the druggist,
happened to find an old package of
orris root powder in which numerous
round and oval-shaped bodies of gran-
ular appearance were present which
after mounting and microscopical ex-
amination I found to be composed
mainly of the cocoons of the minute
tobacco beetle and I prepared a photo-
graph of them magnified about three
and one half times (Fig. 4). Nearly
all of these beetle cocoons were in the
breeding cycle ; i. e., most of them

after

opening

the

minute globular

FIG 2.

(1) PLUG TOBACCO INFESTED WITH

THE TOBACCO LARVAE

(Magnified very slightly.)

(2) TOBACCO AND DRUG STORE

BEETLES WITH LARVAE

(3) DRUG STORE BEETLES AT NORMAL

SIZE

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

FIG. 3.

TWO TOBACCO BEETLES AND ONE

DRUG-STORE BEETLE (LOWER)

AND LARVAE

capsule showed a small live and curved
larva. In others the maturing larval
beetles could be seen, the larval state
being in appearance identically the
same as photographed in Figs. 2 and 3.
On closer inspection of Fig. 4 several
of the whitish larvae of this beetle
are seen, for instance at the places
marked 1. Some of these larvae were
quite disfigured in general appearance
from the fine orris root powder ad-
hering to their hairy filaments. In
a few artificially opened cocoons the
larva is seen quite plainly in the il-
lustration.

ft is an interesting fact, also stated
by Mr. Lucas, that these tobacco
beetles prefer the best brand of to-
bacco and the more so as they are
occasionally found in tobacco which
had been sealed air-tight in tin or
wooden boxes and therefore the proba-
bility presents itself that these pests
had been conveyed through tobacco
goods in the tobacco factories be-
fore being put on the market, it
being very difficult to detect the min-
ute ova. How these beetles develop
in all sorts of tobacco is seen, as a
second example, in the so-called plug

tobacco, Fig. 2 (1), which I also pro-
cured from the druggist. I prepared
the view with an objective lens applied
to the camera, showing the tobacco
larvae about one half times magnified ;
also the second figure of the same
photograph, showing some of the lar-
vae of the drug store beetle and the
tobacco insect and also the appear-
ance and size (about one half larger)
of the tobacco and the drug beetle
(the latter being more slender).

In further experimenting with this
matter, I succeeded in preparing the
view Fig. 3 using an extra strong lens
to the camera at quite near focus, show-
ing six of the tobacco larvae, two full
grown tobacco beetles and one drug-
store beetle (the lowest one in the
photograph) magnified considerably.

The third illustration in Fig. 2 shows
the closely allied drug-store beetle,
named because of its preference of in-
vading drug-store goods and infesting
precisely in the same manner as the to-
bacco beetle. This view shows the
beetles in very slightlv less than nor-
mal size. This drug-store beetle is
more slenderly built than the tobacco

FIG. 4.

COCOONS OF THE TOBACCO BEETLE

WITH LARVAE

Magnified three times.

SEEING BY AID OF THE LENS

beetle but otherwise is of a similar, red-
dish brown color and very active in its
movements. Both the tobacco and
drug-store beetle, it seems, undergo
about one and the same cycle of de-
velopment and when the ova are de-
posited in favorable media of a powder-
ed nature, such as rhubarb, orris root,
slippery elm, linseed meal, tobacco or
cayenne pepper powder, the ovum
transforming into the larval state is
encysted into the globular forms sim-
ilar to these seen in Fig. 4 and similar
to the genesis of other forms of insect
life.

The main characteristic features to
determine the genus and the difference
between the drug-store, and the to-
bacco beetle, larva are the clawed feet
and the jaws of the head parts of the
tobacco beetle, the single small claw
being sharply outlined on high powTer
examination as shown by the photo-
micrograph herewith representing a
larva freshly taken from the middle
foldings of a cigar and immediately
photographed by the writer with par-
ticles of tobacco leaf detritus surround-
ing the larva.

The harm these minute insects are
liable to do to tobacco, food stuffs and
drugs is often enormous and they are
often a great nlague to dealers in to-
bacco and drugs and because of their
minute size and rapid movements are
difficult to exterminate. Being winged
as other beetles, they can fly and
migrate to distant places and there
perform the same havoc and multiply
enormously.

Both these minute beetles above des-
cribed tally with the observations of
Dr. L. O. Howard, (Farmer's Bulletin
120) and Dr. F. H. Chittenden (Bull-
etin No. 4, Divis. Entom. U. S. De-
partment of Agriculture) but in our
case the matter is the more interesting
having found and depicted the larvae
situ and the larva of the drug store
beetle encapsulated in the peculiar
globular cocoons described and illus-
trated therein. Dr. Chittenden says
in regard to the tobacco beetle, "As
a tobacco feeder it outranks that
species (the drug store beetle) and also
appears to favor certain medicinal

plants not so often affected by the
Sitodrepa (drug-store beetle.

"Of household supplies it has been
found infesting cayenne pepper, gin-
ger, rhubarb, rice, figs, yeast cakes
and prepared fish food. It has been re-
ported as destructive to silk and plush

FIG 5.
PHOTO-MICROGRAPH OF LARVAL TO-
BACCO BEETLE.
In its natural state, surrounded by tobacco
leaf remnants. Considerably magnified

upholstery and the past year did con-
siderable damage to dried" and preserv-
ed herbarium specimens in Washing-
ton. Of drugs it is partial to ergot and
turmeric and tobacco it devours in
every form."

The druggists and tobacco dealers
throughout the country undoubtedly
are familiar with the above minute
pests and these memoranda concern-
ing them, I believe, will be appreciated
by readers of The Guide to Nature.

"A world of wonder lies around us."
That saying is so trite that the truth
in it is too often not realized. Many
people wear eyeglasses because the
ordinary newspaper and business mat-
ters of life cannot be utilized without
this commonplace optical aid. . But
why not as commonly use a pocket
microscope? Rightly applied it .will
give much pleasure and instruction.
It is a life ticket to a wonderful mus-
eum and menagerie.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

ORNITHOLOGY

It is not easy to progress far along this road because every bird sug-
gests so many reflections and recollections. — Richard Jeff eries.

The Wild Drummer.

BY EDMUND J. SAWYER, SCHENECTADY,
N. Y.

What a delightful and inspiring puz-
zle has been the still wonderful drum-
ming' of the ruffed grouse ! The bird
has now been photographed in the act
from almost every conceivable point
of view ; each feature of the act has
been catalogued with painstaking care ;
the "drum" itself has been seen and
described and the last vestige of mys-
tery dispelled from that remarkable
habit which has tasked the patience
and skill — not to say the imagination
—of every bird student from Audu-
bon's day to our own. It is indeed
a mystery no longer. But why should
the pleasure and inspiration be any
the less when at daybreak we hear
that "thump, thump, thump, thum.
thm' thm' in the awakening May
woods?

Last spring my tent stood nearly
surrounded by woods and many an
early morning hour I laid awake listen-
ing to the muffled drums, for a hundred
yards within the woods back of my
tent, half a dozen others at various
distances and points of the compass.
Thus lying in my cot I could guess
pretty well where each performer was ;
for I had searched out the drumming
logs for half a mile around. In ten
minutes I could be face to face with
one or another of the drummers, peer-
ing from my blind a few yards from
his log, but I was loth to break the
enchantment of distance. From one of
my blinds I had regularly at least three
birds besides the one just before me.
One of these, whose well-worn drum-
ming log I knew well, was in a piece

of woods a hundred yards away across
a pasture, yet his drumming was almost
as distinct as that of the bird only six-
yards from me. In fact I could not
always be sure which of these grouse
was drumming without watching the
nearest one. If one wishes merely to
hear the sound for enjoyment a blind
is needless, the natural cover being
sufficient. For this purpose a closer
approach than two hundred feet is un-
necessary. Even at anything like this
distance, however, as little noise as
possible should be made, and none —
the person standing or sitting perfectly
still, while the watchful grouse rests
between the drumming periods.

For my part I say let the grouse
drum on. The sound still thrills me
through every fiber. I well remember
the first time I heard it, and this spring
it fills me with the same enthusiasm.
For suggestiveness, association and a
certain wildness — the very soul of the
wary bird — there is not a wrood-note to
compare with this. To my ear it ex-
presses, as no other mere natural
sound does, that status of the wild
mentality which we have so long heard
discussed with a warmth equalled by
its fruitlessness.

The alert attitude of body, and mind
if you will, the earnest purpose and
ardor braving with discretion, lurking
foes, the robust health of the bird ; all
this (and so much more !) is expressed
with a wildness that makes your heart
go thud, thud, thud, in enthusiastic
response to the roll of this muffled
drum. In power of suggestion and in
the fact that it may be heard with un-
abated regularity in showery weather,
more than in tone, it is like distant
thunder with which it has been com-

ORNITHOLOGY.

pared. I ask nothing better than to
sit on a mossy log", hepaticas at my feet
and lisping' warblers overhead, and
hear from the seclusion of the thicket
this emanation from nature's heart.

this primeval voice, so wild, so preg-
nant with the life, the new hope and
all the characteristicness and pro-
phetic meaning" of the burgeoning
woods.

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THE DRUMMING OF THE RUFFED GROUSE

IOO

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A MATIN SONG

BY EDMUND J. SAWYER SCHENECTADY, N. Y.

As melts autumnal snow from earth,
As roses blush when they have birth ;
So from the east night melts away,
So blush the skies at birth of day.
Tranquil and virgin, vast and still,
The sleep of valley and of hill.

Hark ! from a bough above the rest,

A sparrow, atremble in throat and breast,

Hymns, as only a sparrow may,

The dawning of another day.

The bough, with dew beads hung along,

Is vibrant. with the matin song;

Glad, unconscious, beyond restraint ;

Of earth, but with no earthly taint,

There is a rapture in the tone,

A simple faith quite all its own.

(Shall aught for vanity amend,

Or heav'nly fire to Cain descend?)

In heart I would, and would in words,
Praise each new morn — like matin birds !
O could the Here and Now, to me,
Severed from past and future be,
And what could move to song the boy
Be to the man still perfect joy!

«i.

J l- J_ &

■.%H»V(K

ORNITHOLOGY.

IOI

A VESPER SONG

BY EDMUND J. SAWYER, SCHENECTADY, n. Y.

One hour remains of storm-racked day
For expiation; will it pay?
A blaze of gold grows in the west
Where clouds, adrift, and yet at rest,
In burnished seas of flaming sky,
Haloed in silver sunset lie.

Now, tilted on a lowly spray,
A little bird pours out his lay :
Faith and ecstasy in one form,
And music of the union born.
Happy the lordlier, grander hymn,
Where censers swing and aisles are dim,
Which shall so surely rise to God
As this strain from the pasture sod.
It is not loud; what need to be? —
'Tis heard by God (of chance by me) —
Not the mate in the field around:
What of the nest on rain-swept ground?

O when it is God's high behest
To call my own or me to rest,
Command to end life's wind and rain, —
The wreckage and the efforts vain, —
From my soul shall a vesper rise,
Of faith and rapture, to the skies?

102

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The White-Rumped Shrike.

BY H. TULLSEN, KNOXVILEE, TENN.

In winter, in southwestern South
Dakota, the white-rumped shrike, or
butcher-bird, (Lanius ludovicianus ex-
cubitorides) is seldom seen, but
throughout the broader creek — and
river valleys where trees and shrubs
abound he is apt to be common enough
in summer.

In the valley of Grass Creek on the
Pine Ridge Indian reservation, I made
observations on the nidification of this
bird in 1905. About May 15 I noticed
a pair of shrikes at work carrying
nest material. On May 22 I found
their nest — nearly finished. It was in
a willow tree near the brook, about
nine feet from the ground, and was sit-
uated amid a thick tangle of twigs and
branches. The bird that was working
at the structure slipped away so quiet-
ly that, had I not seen her at the first,
any sound she might have made could
not have called my attention to her.
Beginning May 26 a rain set in,
lasting for four days, and on the
29th, when the storm ended, the nest
was thoroughly soaked. The birds
had now abandoned it, for on June 6
I found a new nest, built by the same
pair, with one egg in it. This domicile
was destroyed by marauding Indian
boys on June 8. By June 11 these de-
voted birds had nearly completed a
third nest a short distance from the
second : both these last were also in
willows. After the first nest had been
abandoned I pulled it apart and ex-
amined it. The foundation was of
coarse sticks ; next came soft plants,
chiefly wormwood (Artemisia), with
feathers and strings, all closely and
firmly matted together; then, still pro-
ceeding inward and upward, came fi-
bers, bark shreds, and cotton — consti-
tuting the lining of the nest. While
the third nest was in process of con-
struction I saw one of the birds perch
upon the old stalk of a great ragweed
and pull away the soft, shreddy bark ;
at another time I saw it tearing in
pieces a quantity of cotton from an
old quilt.

The pair worked late — until after
sundown. I think that they took the
softer material from the first nest to

help build the second, as this portion of
the former disappeared. When I tore this
original nest asunder I found it damp
and moldy, even after several days of
hot, dry weather, and there is no
wonder that the birds deserted it.
Ever and anon, during the day, one
or the other of the pair would alight
on a tall flag-pole to take a look over
the adjacent country. After a time
they became rather tame.

On June 13 the third nest contained
one egg ; on June 14, two eggs ; on June
15, three eggs; when next visited, June
18, five eggs; and on June 19, six eggs.
The next time I came, on July 8, this
nest still containing the six eggs, was
deserted, no birds being seen near it,
nor did they return, although they still
tarried in the vicinity.

On June 18 I had found another
shrikes' nest, in a willow that "grows
aslant a brook." It contained four
voung, just hatched. They were naked,
and yellow, and blind. I saw them
again on the next day. The old bird
was brooding them on both occasions.
On June 21 the little birds were still
unable to see, and the yellow of their
skins was taking on a greenish tinge.
The old bird, the mother I suppose,
approached very near while I was peer-
ing into the nest, and made a snapping
sound with her bill. On June 23 the
nestlings had their eyes pretty well
ooened. June 25, when I called again
at the nest, it was empty. The Sioux
were not the culprits this time. They
could have easily proved an alibi, for
like the Arabs all had folded their tents
and silently stolen away — to the site
of a prospective Fourth of July cele-
bration, miles away. No doubt the
magpies were to blame. It was but
another trasfedv of the nests.

An Odd Nesting Site.

BY HENRY E. PULLEN, VICTORIA, B. C.

It is wonderful how quickly the birds
adapt themselves to life in a city. An
old rusty tomato can had been thrown
out on to a vacant lot in the heart of
Victoria city. Two little white crown-
ed sparrows found it and at once re-
cognized its suitability for their purpose.
Usually these sparrows make their
nest on the ground under bushes or

ORNITHOLOGY

103

very near the ground in low bushes hut
this was something better. It would
protect them from any inclement
weather and in it their little home was
not likely to he discovered, carefully
and lovingly the work was done.
Grass woven in circular form was
used for the outer framework of the
nest and inside this, horsehair with an
occasional string intermingled made

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW'S NEST
In an empty tomato can.

everything cosy. The four little blu-
ish green eggs with the brown spots
were laid on four consecutive days and
then the happy pair took turns in sit-
ting on them.

Everything so far had gone well. No
unwelcome intruder had discovered
their hiding place. They were happy
as the day was long. Very soon how-
ever they were to learn that they were
living in a world in which sorrow and
joy are oddly intermingled and the in-
nocent often suffer for the carelessness
of others. A boy one day running
across the lot came so near that little
White Crown became frightened and
foolishly flew off her nest. The boy
saw her and immediately explored the
recesses of the old can.

Now this boy was fond of the little
birds and would not for the world have
injured them or the nest but he had a
friend to whom he showed the cute
little thing. This boy told two others
and so the news passed around until
a boy heard of it who wanted just one
e§"§" f°r n's collection.

It was just at this time that the news
was told to me in confidence, but when
I arrived on the scene 1 found several
boys there looking at the wonder and
there were but three eggs left. The
next day two more had been taken and
still a day later the last precious hope
of the sparrows was taken by a boy
who did not mean any harm but who
in st wanted one egg.

This family of sparrows would have
eaten thousands of insects if they had
been allowed to hatch and grow up.
Four sweet little lives would have help-
ed to make the world brighter, had it
not been for the thoughtlessness of four
bovs who each wanted only one egg.

104

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The History of the Cultivated Pansy.

BY THEO. HOLM, BROOKLAND, D. C.

The history of our cultivated plants
is a most difficult task to deal with,
but is quite interesting" and highly in-
structive. One has to study the geo-
graphical distribution of the species in
a wild stage, and the history of its
cultivation. The literature is copious,
but, nevertheless, there are many in-
stances, where wc do not get all the
information which we desire ; as a
matter of fact several of these plants
are no longer known to occur as "wild,"
and there are very many that have
been cultivated for so many years, that
the year or first place of cultivation
cannot be traced. We all know that
the old Chinese and Egyptians .grew
cereals, vegetables and flowers, many
of which are still in existence, but their
native home is frequently yet unknown.

However, the origin and cultivation
of our pansy does not date back that
far, and the earliest record we have is
from the sixteenth century, or to be
exact from the year 1542, when a Ger-
man botanist Leonhart Fuchs men-
tioned that the wild pansy was planted
in gardens on account of its pretty
flowers. This wild pansy was the
European Viola tricolor L., and its
popular name was at that time "Dvey-
faltigkeytblumlin" with the Germans,
and "pensee" with the French, but the
name under which it was best known
was however "herba trinitatis," refer-
ring to its three-colored petals. In
England the wild pansy (V. tricolor)
was cultivated during the last part of
the same century under the popular
names, "Hartes ease,'' "Paunsie," and
"Three faces in a hood.'' It is now in-
teresting to see that the English hor-

■x m

■

or--.

7>.

FIG. 1. VIOLA TRICOLOR

FIG. 2. VIOLA CALCARATA

THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE.

105

FIG. 3. VIOLA CORNUTA

FIG. 4. "LADY BATH" (1834).

ticulturists introduced another species
of Viola namely the yellow V. lutea,
and that a double-flowered variety was
known as early as the year 1629 ac-
cording to Parkinson. About one hun-
dred years later Philip Miller (1731)
states that Viola tricolor was culti-
vated very extensively in England, and
in many varieties as to size and color
of the flowers, beside that V. lutea was
also grown occasionally. That the
pansy was also grown in Denmark and
Sweden as early as the middle part of
the seventeenth century may be seen
from the works of Simon Paulli (1648)
and Olof Rudbeck (1658). It is not
so strange that this little plant should
attain such widespread popularity,
when we remember that Linnaeus
(1737) recognized not less than nine-
teen varieties, several of which are
quite showy.

The pansies that were, thus, grown in
gardens during the sixteenth, seven-
teenth and eighteenth century were Viola
tricolor and V. lutea, especially, though
the former. It was not. however, until
the nineteenth century that the culture
of pansies should reach its climax.
That was when Lady Mary Bennet,
daughter of the Count of Tankerville
(1810) undertook a rational culture of
wild pansies ; she collected seeds of so
many varieties as she could find, and
grew them in her garden. Her ex-
ample became soon followed by Lady

Monke (1812), and Lord Gambier
(1814), whose gardener Thomson of
Iver was very successful in producing
showy varieties. Seeding was com-
menced on a great scale, the most
showy specimens were carefully se-
lected, and the selection continued
from year to year. No artificial cross
fecundation was yet attempted, but
the flowers were left to the visits of
bees and other insects. The fact that
Viola tricolor was at that time grown
side by side with V. lutea resulted in
the development of hybrids, and it was
not long before three other species
were introduced in the gardens: V. Al-
taica, V. calcarata and V. cornuta.
These wild species of the genus Viola
became actually the ancestors of our
cultivated pansy of to-day, and the
accompanying figures illustrate some
of these.

Among the very first large flowered
varieties that were raised in this way
was, "Lady Path" (1834), in which
the petals were more brilliantly colored
than in the parents, while their shape
was essentially the same, somewhat
elongated. Then followed a period
where English pansy raisers laid more
stress upon the production of circular
flowers, and "Beauty of Anlaby" is
one of these.

The production of these large flow-
ered varieties or rather hybrids marks
an epoch in Pansy culture ; the interest

io6

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

FIG. 5. "BEAUTY OF ANLABY" (1836)

FIG. 6. "MADAME CAMPAN" (1856)

for pansies awoke to such extent that
"Pansy clubs" and "Harts ease socie-
ties" were established, awarding enor-
mous prizes for the finest flowers that
could possibly be produced. The
flower, however, should be of a circu-
lar outline, and the petals should be of
the same color "Selfs" or of two dif-
ferent "Belted pansies." These de-
mands were fully complied with in
England, and all other varieties were

discarded or unmercifully annihilated.
Fortunately the French horticul-
turists were more liberal in this re-
spect ; they laid more stress upon the
coloration than the shape of the petals.
We owe to the famous Miellez of Lille
(1850) the production of the magnifi-
cent "Napoleon 3" and "Imperatrice
Eugenie." In the former of these the
petals are purple and yellow, in the
latter pink and white, but both had

FIG. 7. "DUCHESS OF FIFE" 1890)

FIG. 8. "EMPRESS PANSY" (1894)

THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE.

107

large dark blotches on the lower
petals, somewhat like "Madame Cam-
pan," raised in Belgium (1856).

A much more modern type is, how-
ever, the "Duchess of Fife" (1890)
with no blotches, and in which the
color is yellow edged with purple;
this forms a striking contrast to the
so-called Empress Pansy (1894), which
by far is the most showy and the most
fashionable of all these that have been
raised so far.

With the exception of green, all the
other colors are represented in the cul-
tivated pansies, and the number of dif-
ferent shades is immense. Double
flowered varieties are not considered,
and in this way we find always in the
pansy something of its old, true nature.

Few flowers have become known
under so many names as our pansy,
and some of these are quite interesting
for instance : Stepmother, Blue suneye,
Widow herb. Day and night. Two
faces under the sun, Call me to you.
Kiss at the garden gate, and finally the
longest ever attributed to a flower :
"meet-her-i' -th' -entry-kiss-her-i' -th'-
buttery."

the ground upward, one could easily
study these roots in all stages of

growth,

beginning with the first little

lenticel just starting to expand on the

STEMS THAT ARE ROOT-LIKE.

It is interesting to note the first
steps in the transformation of a stem
into a root, a transformation that is
easily observed especially with the
stem of tomato vines. In my garden
this year the tomato vines were of
unusually heavy growth on account of
the over enrichment of the soil. From
lack of time or for other reasons I
failed to train the vines on sticks in
the usual manner. They remained es-
pecially neglected in one corner of the
yard, where they lay on the ground
and developed rootlets, or root-like
branches, in patches that extended
along almost the entire length of the
stems. By examining the vines from

THE ROOT-LIKE STEMS

side of the stem and ending with the
long rootlets as shown in the photo-
graph. But mentioning the lenticel
reminds me that a botanist not long
ago told me that he had induced a
section of a tree trunk to project tiny
roots through the lenticels by keeping
it in a damp place. I wonder if any
of our readers can give any information
on this subject?

Growing Peanuts.
It is an easy matter to grow pea-
nuts in open beds or in boxes filled
with earth. It is interesting to watch
the "intelligence," seemingly, with
which the flower is pushed under
ground for the fruiting nut to grow.

io8

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Under the Auspices of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia, Herman T. Wolf, Editor

Water for the Freshwater Aquarium.

Questions as to what kinds of water
are best for the household aquarium
are so frequently addressed to the
writer that some little elucidation on
this subject may be of general inter-
est.

The fishes which best survive under
these necessarily artificial conditions
are the common forms of the pond and
stream and the domesticated golden
carp or goldfish and its variants, pro-
duced by selection and breeding. The
most of these are natural to any still
or slow-flowing water, and it is the
Cyprinidae or carplike fishes which
survive the longest in the aquarium,
as they require less oxygen, dissolved
or held in suspension in the water,
than those whose habitation is cold
water or the swift running brook.

Therefore, any water fit for drink-
ing or culinary purposes is all that is
required for the usual aquarium fishes ;
but cold-water fishes require larger
containers and a constant change of
water admitted under pressure, or else
some means of artificial aeration to
suoply sufficient oxygen.

It is an erroneous idea that water
purified bv a mechanical filter is in-
jurious. Some inquirers ask whether
filtration will remove food for the
fishes. Only very few of the low forms
of animal and plant life are present
at any time, and these are insufficient
to sustain the lives of fishes, making
feeding necessary to their survival.

Filtration by mechanical means is.
if anything, beneficial, as it removes
the snores and larvae of parasites and
other natural enemies, and when suf-
ficient growing plants are' present to
liberate oxygen and consume carbonic

acid gas, is preferable to unfiltered
water, as it is clearer and cleaner and
will cause less sedimentary deposit
than the usual muddy water directly
from the mains.

When filtration is aided or effected
by the use of alum, sulphate of copper
or other astringent substances, how-
ever, such water is unfit for the aqua->
Hum and may cause the immediate or
ultimate death of all the fishes. This
was mentioned in the last issue.
Where such water is furnished bv the
city supply, it had best not be used,
and soft water from other source em-
ployed.

Under right conditions, a change of
water in the aquarium is necessary
only at long intervals, then rain water,
thoroughly aerated by frequent pour-
ing from one vessel to another and ex-
posure to the atmosphere some days
before use, is advisable ; or spring or
well water similarly treated, to modify
its hardness. These conditions are not
present in many cities of the United
States ; and the question of the kind
of water for the aquarium is not as
important as many fanciers believe.

Any potable water not purified by
chemicals is all that is required ; mis-
haps to the aquarium and its inhab-
itants can usually be traced to causes
other than the water supply.

Aquarium Scavengers.
To maintain the balance between
animal and plant life, prevent the
deterioration of the water, remove
narasites, and to consume sedimen-
tary deposits, offal and excreta, in the
aquarium, scavengers are imperatively
necessary. These consists of molluscs.

AQUARIUM.

109

larval forms of amphibia and some
species of fishes harmless to the other
animal inmates.

Of the molluscs, those species which
feed on algae, the minute aquatic
plants, and decaying vegetation, in-
fusoria, rotifera and the general re-
fuse only should be introduced, not
those which prefer living and growing
plants. Experience has taught the
aquariist that five species of snails
and three species of mussels are best
for these purposes. They are the com-
mon forms of Planorbes, popularly
known as ram's horn, trumpet or flat
snails, and the large P, magnificus, or
Cape Fear river snail ; also the Vivi-
para, of which the Potomac and
Georgia snails, V. vivipurus and V.
gcorgiamis, and the introduced Jap-
anese snail, V. malleatus, are pre-
ferred ; and the so-called Trans-
parent African snail, L. auricularia.
Two or more kinds of these are advisable
as they all vary somewhat in pref-
erence of diet.

Of the mussels the small Sphaerium
and the larger Lampsilus and Marga-
ritana longest survive and are most
effectual as scavengers.

Tadpoles are also beneficial in con-
suming the sediment, food offal and
other organic substances, and of these
frog-tadpoles remain the longest in the
larval state.

To consume worms, leeches, polyps
and animal parasites, small specimens
of sticklebacks and Indian paradise
fishes are used, which in a few days
will effectually remove these pests.

In a freshwater aquarium of sav
twenty-five gallons of water, ten or
twelve snails, four small and two large
mussels and four or six tadpoles will
be sufficient. The sticklebacks and
paradise fishes need only be introduced
when the vermes and hydrozoa have
increased to such numbers as to be
objectionable or dangerous to the
other animals present.

Saltwater aquarium scavengers are
not as efficient as those of freshwater ;
but the common forms of whelks and
limpets, bivalves, shrimps and small
crabs are used ; and, though some also
feed on the marine vegetation, thev
are fairly effective scavengers when the

Reding of the other inmates is prop-
erly regulated. As marine plants are
introduced more to enhance the pic-
turesque appearance of the aquarium
than to serve as oxygenators, and as
the} do not thrive under the changed
conditions, their partial destruction by
these scavengers needs no serious con-
sideration.

Enclosed Pond Aquaria.

Greenhouses for the display and
propagation of tender and exotic
plants or the growing of fine fruit are
now so general that something new
,and different may appeal to those
whose means will permit of its in-
dulgence. Attention is therefore di-
rected to the possibilities of a water
garden which would combine the
features of the aquarium and the pond,
to display the beauties of both the
fauna ami flora of the pond and river,
,and also permit of the keeping of high-
ly interesting foreign forms of fishes
and plants that would probably not
survive in the aquarium or greenhouse
tank except under the care" of an ex-
perienced attendant.

Veritable living pictures could be
produced that in ever-varying beauty
'and entertainment could not be equall-
ed by any other so limited expenditure
of money, thought and good taste, as
by this artistic arrangement of the
water garden-

The suggestion originated with Mr.
\Ym. P. Seal and was published in a
bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission ;
the idea being to construct a glass en-
closure similar to a green house, or
to make it a part or adjunct to a green-
house, thereby bringing the inhabit-
ants of the pond where their living
and loving may be observed and so
add another esthetic pleasure to our
existence.

In carrying out this thought, the
aquaria would be built on the margin
of a pond or other water reservoir and
would consist of a series of glass-front
compartments extending back into the
pond, arranged at the front like an
aquarium, with a movable back screen,
so that any of the inhabitants may be

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

either trapped or allowed to roam at pockets for aquatic plants, or othe

will in the larger rear enclosures. attractive arrangement of submerge

As the illustration No. I shows, the or floating plants made, which wi

BIS

^m-^-^L^z^f'^M^

A POND AQUARIUM

water-pens (A), extending back from
each aquarium front, are separated by
partitions (B) from each other, and
the aquaria (C) are furnished with
wire-mesh movable backs. The bot-
toms (D) are perforated to allow the
escape of sedimetary deposits and an
occasional change of water through
the funnel-shaped gutter (E), which,
together with a drain from the low
point of each compartment, are led to
some point outside the building.

In each of the aquaria a mound of
rocks (F) may be erected, having

vary the picture in each enclosur<
A great wealth of other plants, wat(
poppies, lilies, lotuses, umbrella plant
arrowheads, rushes, sedges, flags, ca
tails and all else that grows in, on c
out of the water, could be planted int
the reservoirs that would produce tr
effect of a submerged garden an
bring the life history of the aquat
flora to view as has never befoi
been done.

Each compartment could contai
different genera and species of fishes
in one the common goldfish and car]

A SECTION OP ENCLOSURE FOR A POND AQUARIUM

AQUARIUM.

the next the Japanese fringetail, fan-
tail, comet and nymph goldfishes ; a
third the telescopic-eyed Chinese
Mottled and Moor goldfishes, a fourth
the Indian Paradise fishes, a fifth the
Golden Ide, a sixth the Green and
Golden tenches ; and so on to the
minnows, sunfishes, dace, killifishes,
catfishes and eels, perch, trout, etc. ; or
a number of these which live in amity,
together in one compartment ; oppor-
tunity being- offered for the display of
any of the native and exotic fishes of
freshwater in almost natural surround-
ings, free from the artificialities and
restraint of the aquarium or fish tank,
a vivarium in its broadest sense.

By this arrangement all necessity
for a change of water would be dis-
pensed with and except about twice a
year, when considerable new water
should be added, filling in as much as
has evaporated would suffice for the
maintenance of this pond-garden in
perfect condition ; as the growing
plants would liberate sufficient
oxygen for the fishes, and the fishes
sufficient carbonic acid gas required
by the plants in their growth ; in other
words, the balanced aquarium on a
gigantic scale. The diagram No. 2
shows a further development of the
thought, an artificial pond entirely en-
closed in a greenhouse and thereby
protected from inclement weather, ice
and snow, an admirable arrangement
for the studv of all forms of fluvial
life.

Can the reader form an adequate
mental picture of the great beauty of
an aquatic garden such as this sug-
gests?1 Its maintenance would be sim-
plicity itself, when once installed; and
would not require even a modicum of
the attention necessary to operate a
greenhouse for plants. Has anyone
the desire to venture this new thing
of beauty? The Guide to Nature
would aid by advise and council and
heartily endorse the attempt.

The Household Aquarium.

BY SAMUEL MC CLARY III. M. D., MEMBER
AQUARIUM SOCIETY OE PHILADELPHIA.

At this season of the year the house-
hold aquarium is an important subject

for consideration ; and at the society's
request, 1 am pleased to offer the
following observations and suggestions.

The best size of the aquarium for the
dwelling is one containing about thirty
to eighty gallons, larger ones may be
dangerous on account of their weight
and smaller ones will require too fre-
quent cleaning.

The frames should be of metal, those
of brass make more effective adorn-
ments than gilding or paint over iron
frames. It should be constructed to
have a large surface, at least as wide
as high and not over twenty inches
deep, as fishes thrive better in shallow
water. The base should be of slate
and the sides of heavy plate glass, so
joined that very little cement comes
into contact with the water.

A good aquarium cement is corn-
posed of one part red lead, one part
litharge, twelve parts glazier's putty
mixed to a thick paste with boiled
linseed oil and a little ivory black.

The best medium in which to root
the plants is a lower layer of small
pebbles and a covering of clean coarse
sand ; the pebbles permitting an easy
spreading of the roots, and the sand
preventing too much of the residuum,
particles of food etc. becoming mixed
with this covering to possibly contami-
nate the water and over this a thin
layer of small pebbles.

The best aquarium plants are the
ribbon-leaved Sagittarias (Arrow-
heads) Cabomba (fanwort) Vallisneria
(eelgrass) Ludwigia (loosestrife)
Potamogeton ( channelweed ) and
Anacharis (pondweed) as these best
perform the necessary functions of
liberating oxygen and absorbing the
carbonic acid gas given off by living
creatures. The most of these will
thrive set directly into the pebbles
and sand, but the}- may be planted in
small pots in clean soil covered with
pebbles and the layer of sand ; which
latter should not be level but arranged
with a depression in the centre or in
one corner where the humus or pre-
cipitates may collect for easy removal
with the lifting tube or a siphon.

The plants may be arranged in

112

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

groups according" to their height and
foliage, and to act as a screen from
excessive light with an open space in
the front and centre.

The best light for plants and the
aquarium is a northern exposure, but
when this may not be had an eastern
light is satisfactory with say two hours
of not too strong sunlight in the
morning.

The best scavengers are Japanese
and native snails, the Ram's-horn and
Potomac, pond mussels and frog tad-
poles. The Molluscs should have
their shells scrubbed and the plants
receive an antiseptic bath of two or
three minutes in a solution of two tea-
spoonsful of Creseptic to the gallon of
water before being placed in the
aquarium.

A glass or other cover may be placed
on the aquarium, but it should not fit
so closely as to prevent the free cir-
culation of air, and had best be set
upon rubber buttons on the upper
frame. This will make the evaporation
less rapid and keep out dust and
foreign particles.

The fishes should only be placed
into the aquarium after the plants are
rooted and are oxygenating the water.
A few small pieces of plaster of paris
are beneficial as they add lime and
neutralize the acidity of the water,
necessary for the development of the
bony structure of the fishes and shells
of the molluscs.

A balance of plant and animal life
is necessary, which means that the con-
ditions be such that enough oxygen
is supplied to keep the fishes in comfort
and to prevent the need for their coming
to the surface to breathe the air direct.
A good rule is to have an abundance
of plant life and not over one inch of
fish body for each gallon of water
contained, excluding the tails ; one snail
to each fish and two or three mussels.
The molluscs should be closely watched
that they may not die and contaminate
the water.

About once a week the humus col-
lecting at the lower level should be
removed.

Feeding is so important a subject

that it should be taken up in a separate
paper. Most of the prescribed foods
are too concentrated, that is, they have
too little bulk for the amount of con-
tained nutrition, and frequently cause
constipation. I approve of the follow-
ing as an aquarium food:

i pound cornmeal flour.

i pound Bethlehem oat-meal.

y2 pound shredded codfish.

4 eggs.

i tablespoonful of table salt,
i teaspoonful if epson salt.

and sufficient water to make a paste,
thoroughly mixed and steamed for four
hours, then forced through a colander
or other strainer and dried at a low
heat. This should be occasionally
varied with other food, all sparingly
fed. It is a general practice to feed
entirely too much and too often — once
every other day in winter and daily in
the summer for six-months-old fishes;
younger fishes should be fed oftener
in smaller quantity. No food should
remain in the aquarium fifteen minutes
after it has been given. Some form
of feeding dish is a good method of
learning just how little will be suf-
ficient. Alwrays avoid overfeeding.

The natural small pond life, consist-
ing of the tiny wrater animalculae is
the best fish food.

Nets should be shallow, made of
bobbinet and handled carefully so as
not to injure the fishes. Scissors
should be used in trimming the plants
and a thermometer is necessary to
regulate the water temperature when
transfers are made from one water to
another. Fine breeds of goldfishes
should never suffer a sudden change of
more than four or five degrees i,n
temperature.

In closing this general paper on
aquarium conditions, I wish to empha-
size severaj guiding points.

Be clean with everything. Disinfect
all plants and animals before adding
them to the aquarium ; even quarantin-
ing a week or ten days all new inmates.
Have all the conditions as near nature
as possible, and feed sparingly, if you
wish to be assured of a fair measure
of success with the aquarium.

MINERALOGY.

113

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MINERALOGY

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Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

Minerals Occurring in the Neighbor-
hood of the University of Virginia.

BY WM. M. THORNTON, JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

During the past summer and autumn
Mr. G. F. R. Tackson and I took a

LLMONITE AFTER PYRITE ALBEMARLE
COUNTY, VIRGINIA

good many tramps in Albemarle Co.,
Ya., with the three-fold object of en-
joying the fresh air and exercise, ob-
serving and discussing the rather com-

plex ( ieology of the region, and collect-
ing all the different species of minerals
and rocks that could be brought to
light. When the desire to make a
mineral collection first took hold of
me, I naturally asked the question;
What minerals (in a state approach-
ing purity) could be found in and
around my home. The answer as it
came from others was not encouraging,
and indeed my first searches were al-
most fruitless. Air. Jackson and I, how-
ever, determined to investigate
thoroughly, and were rather agreeably
surprised to find about a dozen speci-
mens, which I consider not contempt-
ible illustrations of the varieties they
represent. The purposes of this little
article are two: viz., to encourage the
study of Mineralogy, especially by the
method of seeking the earth's constit-
uents where they have been differ-
entiated and lie hid in their rocky or
earthy homes, and to give to those
locally interested and to those inter-
ested in the geographical occurrence of
minerals generally some little account
of what is available. A brief des-
cription of each specimen and its mode
of occurrence follows.

AMETHYST, ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA

ii4

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Calcite : — Monticello Mountain, on
which stands the historic home of
Thomas Jefferson, is about two miles
southeast of Charlottesville. The

VIEW IN MONTICELLO QUARRY

Showing veins of quartz and calcite in

chloritic schist.

mountain is one of a range formed of
an ancient igneous rock now highly
metamorphosed. The most conspic-
uous minerals composing the rock are
quartz, chlorite, and epidote, so that
its color varies from the grass green of
the chlorite to the "bull-frog green"
of the epidote. Near the foot of the
mountain where the road crosses
Moore's Creek the rock is exposed by
the road cut. Here small veins of
calcite traverse the rock. On opening
up along these veins, crystallized cal-
cite in fair examples was found. The
specimen in my cabinet is a small
pocket in the schist lined with cal-
cite crystals. The little cavern of white
crystals against the green background

makes a unique and attractive speci-
men.

Chlorite: — As we follow the same
road at the point where it starts up
the mountain and the creek makes a
bend and skirts around the base of the
mountain, the Charlottesville rock
quarry is situated. A good deal of
rock has been taken out for road metal
and the consequent exposure is 70 or
80 feet high and about 50 yards long.
Along the wall were found cross
sections of irregular veins of chlorite.
The mineral is very soft, dark green —
almost black on a fracture surface —
though the streak is grass green. It
seems to be composed of very small
scales tightly packed together. It is
apparently very pure; but it has not as
yet been identified as a particular
chlorite. It is hoped that a chemical
analysis as soon as practicable will
determine this point.

Specular Hematite: — Quartz veins
are common in the chloritic schist and
crystallized hematite has been fre-
quently deposited in fissures in the
quartz. On the road side near the
Monticello gate two pieces of milky
quartz were found and on them con-
siderable specular hematite. Equally
rich masses have not been found in
place.

Quartz : — Quartz does not occur in
large distinct crystals; but some inter-
esting massive varieties are mentioned
below. Beyond the Monticello en-
trance, however, a narrow dike of
quartz porphyry cuts through the
chloritic schist. On the joint planes of
the porphyry small crystals were found
implanted, most of which approach
the normal form. Smoky quartz was
found along the Monticello road side.
The mass is almost black and on parts
of the fracture surface the lustre is
almost dull. It seems probable that
the smokiness is due to included black
hornblende or possibly tourmaline.
Following this same road past Mon-
ticello, the old Virginia home named
"Morven" is reached. Many pieces of
amethyst, large and small, have been
found on this place. I am indebted to
a lady of the neighborhood for a speci-
men, weighing 8^2 ounces. In struc-
ture it is a mass of crowded and fre-

MINERALOGY.

115

quently twinned crystals, which is
shown by re-entrant angles and
striations over the whole surface. It
appears deep purple at one end and

VIEW IN QUARRY AT CHARLOTTES-
VILLE RESERVOIR
Showing pegmatite dike on the left and
interbedded hornblende schist on the
right in granite gneiss.

nearly colorless at the other. Abont
5 miles west from the University, the
Charlottesville reservoir is situated
among hills of Archean granite gneiss.
Two amethysts were found loose a
little north of the reservoir. The bet-
ter piece is pale in color and shows
several pyramids capping one another.
Unfortunately it has many flaws. This
is the only amethyst I know of from
this locality, so the accidental find
remains to be explained. A curious
pale blue opalescent quartz occurs in
the granite gneiss area. The cause of
this color is an interesting problem.
Some years ago Prof. F. P. Dunning-
ton examined thin sections with the
microscope and always found crystal-
lites of rutile present. But according
to Dr. T. L. Watson much of perfectly
colorless Appalachian quartz shows
crystallites of rutile, so that minute
needles of rutile do not necessarily
give rise to blue color. At Roseland,

in Nelson Co., blue quartz is an abund-
ant constituent of the pegmatite dike
that carries rutile and some ilmenite ; so
at any rate it is very closely associated
with titanium compounds.

Limonite after pyrite : — On the
northwest outskirts of Charlottesville,
pseudomorphs of limonite after pyrite
are abundant in the soil. The pyrite
originally existed in Huronian mica
slate, which is now very much dis-
integrated. The form is the simple
cube, and some of the smaller crystals
are nearly perfect ; though the larger
ones are generally elongated. Pene-
tration twins of two or more individ-
uals are common, and the facial stria-
tions are often clearly shown. At Rio
on the Southern R. R., where the mica
slate is less decomposed, cubes were
found in the rock. This proves the
mica slate to have been the matrix.

Near the Charlottesville reservoir
the minerals of the granite gneiss have
been differentiated and masses of
black scaly hornblende and plagioclase
feldspar can be obtained. Finally re-
sidual clay occurs both in granite
gneiss and mica schist regions.

It is hoped that this brief account can
sometime be expanded so as to em-
brace Albemarle Co. as a whole, when
doubtless a greater number of species
and more interesting occurrences can
be recorded.

THE OPAL.

Ca mythological poem.)
A dewdrop came, with a spark of flame

He had caught from the sun's last ray,
To a violet's breast, where he lay at rest

'Till the hours brought back the day.

The rose looked down, with a blush and
frown;
But she smiled, all at once, to view
Her own bright form, with its coloring
warm.
Reflected back by the dew.

Then the stranger took a stolen look

At the sky so soft and blue;
And a leaflet green, with a silvery sheen,

Was seen by the idler too.

A cold north wind, as he thus reclined,

Of a sudden raged around,
And a maiden fair, who was walking there,

Next morning an opal found.

[The above poem was found among some
torn leaves of a book on gems in mythology,
but the real name of the book or its author
could not be learned. — Editor.]

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Our Summer School.

Monday, June 21st, will be the open-
ing day for our first annual summer
school of nature in Arcadia. It will
close on Friday, July 9th. The school
will hold this session without fail, even
if there be but one pupil and that one
be Edward F. Bigelow. Wouldn't you
like to join with him and be able to
say in future years, when Arcadia
shall be greater than it is to-day, "I
was a member of the first' nature
school held in Arcadia, Sound Beach,
Connecticut?"

And do not forget that we are all
children in the study of God's works,
and however great may be our at-
tainments, we are all only beginners.
The school will welcome you to the
limit of its capacity whether you are
nine or ninety, whether or not you
know a clam from a mussel, a dande-
lion from a buttercup, a blue jay from
a kingfisher: whether or not you are
a member of the kindergarten depart-
ment or a savant.

But wait a moment. Perhaps we
can get to the gist of the thing by
a briefer method. We will not accept
you as a pupil unless you have a gen-
uine interest in at least some ohase of
this wonderful and beautiful world,
and express a desire to know more.
Your presence here will be a tacit ad-
mission of such interest and desire,
and nothing more is necessary. Ar-
cadia is not a place in which to pass

the idle days of a summer vacation.
It is not a place in which "to loaf
and possess your soul" in empty day-
dreaming, although for those purposes
no region can be better adapted. It
is a place for serious work, for earn-
est thought and for mental exertion.
If you come, it must be with these
facts in mind. Recreation will not be
entirely absent. But that will come
only after the work has been done for
the dav.

The Central Idea.

There is a vide range, it must be
admitted, in the conversational en-
thusiasm of a sailing trip (with jocose
references to the Fat One), in the en-
thusiastic study of the tobacco beetle,
in elaborate biological arguments re-
lative to a deformed claw, and in sev-
eral other articles in this number
which, perhaps, is wider in range of
topics and of treatment than any pre-
vious number.

But after all the amplitude is per-
haps not so great as it seems. A little
analysis and comparison will show
the reader that each topic is true to
the central idea of The Guide to
Nature and that it is in direct edu-
cational relation with some phase of
nature, especially with what it gives
us pleasure to call "commonplace
nature with uncommon interest." The
writers on these topics and on others
in this number have found instruction

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL

ii'

and entertainment in a special aspect aboul what he would like to do nor
of nature; they have treated their sub- does he send indefinite eulogies of all
jects well, and, we are sure, the read- the glories of nature and of nothing

in particular. He gets down to busi-
ness. Mr sees things. lie ascertains

er will be gratified and instructed.
The Guide to Nature is a magazine
of wide range of sympathy for nature
in education and recreation. If you
have a holiday and spend it in study-
ing or only in admiring nature, and
really do something worth doing from
either point of view, or if you diligent-
ly use microtome and microscope for a
decade on some one class of objects,
then you are included within our cen-
tral idea.

The test is — what did you see or
do that will be helpful, entertaining or
inspiring to others, or that will tend
to influence others to follow in your
footsteps? The Guide to Nature
seeks your cooperation and welcomes
vour observations.

Faithful and Efficient.

No letters and contributions come to
The Guide to Nature which show
more faithful and efficient interest in
nature than those from Dr. R. Menger
of San Antonio, Texas. Unlike some
other correspondents, he does not get
provoked if we are obliged to return
now and then an account of obser-
vations for which we cannot find room.
Instead of argument and "Stop my
subscription," he sends something next
time that is so good that we must
find room for it at once.

Then, too, he says and does some-
thing; he does not send mere words

DR. R. AIEXGER
San Antonio, Texas.

facts. He does not get discouraged-
He is just the kind of faithful worker
we commend to other workers. See
his article, "Peculiar Metamorphosis of
the Tobacco Beetle," on page 94 of
this number.

fORRESP(OT5ENCE
^ ^=f^ and Inform l

Information

Examples of Albinism.

Julietta, Indiana.
To the Editor:

I see in the April number of The
Guide to Nature some observations of
natural freaks among our feathered

friends. The accounts of albinos re-
mind me of my own experience.

Until a year ago, our community
had only a small number of blackbirds;
but last soring a large flock made its
summer home in this vicinity. Hereto-

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

fore I had always been of the opinion
that blackbirds built in evergreens but
this colony, ignoring the few firs and
cedars about them, preferred to pro-
tect their nests and nestlings in hol-
low beeches. While I watched them
as they were busily engaged in their
home-making, my attention was at-
tracted by one of their number who
resembled his fellows in every respect
with the exception of one wing which
was pure white. I often saw this
particular bird during the summer and
in the hazy autumnal days. When
our colony collected for their south-
ward flight, he was among the number,
and in the congregation there were
two whose tails were adorned with
white feathers. This spring the
bird is with us again, as is also
one of the white tailed variety and I
await with interest the advent of the
young brood.

A few years ago a neighbor spoke
of having seen a small white bird on
his premises. Investigation proved
this white bird to be a perfect albino

English sparrow. Only a sparrow it
was, but withal a thing of beauty, and
it seemed that had all members of its
kind possessed such beauty surely
they would be viewed in a kindlier
light by mankind.

And now, dear Mr. Editor, will you
give us some reasons for such excep-
tions to Nature's unchangeable laws?
Fraternally,
George W. Lancaster.

I recently sent an almost spherical
nubbin of corn to an experienced agri-
culturist, asking him why it took such
a form. His answer contains volumes,
of wisdom. Ponder it well.

"I haven't got so far as the irregular
ear. I've been studying corn for many
years and do not yet know why it
grows long in usual form."

Then think a little of variation. No
two individuals alike, not even twa
snow-flakes, blades of grass, leaves or
human beings. Curious, isn't it, that
we ever think of "unchangeable
laws ?" — Editor.

i *-•...... — " • 1 Tl C ; w. — • :

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

W&<&<&&^

Good Suggestions for Family Chapter
By-Laws.

BY-LAWS OF MELLEX CHAPTER OE THE
A. A. NO. IOIQ.

Article I.
Title and Object.

Section i. The name of this
Chapter shall be

MELLEN CHAPTER OF THE
A. A. No. ioiq.

Section 2- The object of this
Chapter is to participate in the ad-
vantages of membership in The
Agassiz Association for the advance-
ment of its members in the search
for knowledge, wisdom and truth
through the observation and study of
natural objects, the natural sciences
and philosophy.

Article II.
Members.

Section i. Membership in this
Chapter shall consist of regular, as-
sociate and corresponding members.

Section 2. Any member of the
family of Edwin D. Mellen of Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, their near
relatives and descendants of good
character may become regular mem-
bers upon payment of the current dues
to the Recording Secretary.

Section 3. Any person of good
character may be proposed for asso-
ciate membership at a meeting of the
Chapter.

Election shall be by ballot ; and, un-
less there be two or more ballots in
the negative, a person so voted upon

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

119

as a candidate shall be admitted to
associate membership on subscribing
to the By-Laws and paying the current
dues.

Associate membership shall not at
any one time exceed ten in number.

Section 4. Any person of good
character may be proposed for cor-
responding membership at a meeting
of the Chapter.

Election shall be by ballot as pro-
vided for associate membership.

Corresponding members shall be
exempt from the payment of dues and
assessments.

Section 5. Regular and associate
members are entitled to vote and to
hold office-
Corresponding members shall not
be entitled to vote or to hold office
but they shall be entitled to all other
privileges of membership.

Section 6. At any regular meeting of
the Chapter the presiding officer shall
declare the membership forfeited of
any regular or associate member
whose dues or assessments are unpaid
for one year, without prejudice, how-
ever to the good intent and character
of a delinquent; and provided that
unpaid dues and assessments may be
abated and the membership may be
continued by vote of the Chapter.
Article III.
Dues and Assessments-
Section 1. The annual dues shall
be one dollar and shall be payable on
the first day of January of each year.
Section 2. Assessments may be
levied upon regular and associate
members to defray the exoense of
excursions, investigations and for such
other purposes as may be authorized
by vote of two-thirds of the members
present and voting at a meeting of
the Chapter ; provided, however, that
payment of an assessment shall be
binding unon those members only who
participate in its application.
Article IV.
Officers.
Section 1. The officers of this
Chanter shall be a President, a Vice-
President, a Treasurer, a Recording
Secretary and a Corresponding Sec-
retary.

Section 2. The officers shall be

elected by ballot at the annual meet-
ing to hold office for one year or un-
til their successors are chosen.

Section 3. Any vacancy occurring
may be filled at any meeting in the
manner provided for election at an
annual meeting.

Article V.
Duties of Officers.

Section i- The President shall pre-
side at all meetings of the Chapter and
shall perform the duties usually ap-
pertaining to the office.

Section 2. The Vice-President
shall, in the absence of the President,
perform all the duties of that officer.

Section 3. The Treasurer shall col-
lect all dues and assessments, have
charge of all funds, and from said
funds shall pay all bills which have
been approved at a meeting of the
Chapter. He shall submit a report
of his accounts to the Chapter at the
annual meeting or at any other meet-
ing if required.

Section 4. The Recording Secretary
shall keep a record of the proceedings
of the Chapter. He shall notify all
members and officers of their elections
and committees of their appointments,
and shall issue notifications when di-
rected by the President, in the absence
of the President and Vice-President
he shall call a meeting to order and
shall preside until a chairman is
chosen.

Section 5. The Corresponding Sec-
retary shall conduct the affairs of the
Chapter in its relations with outside
parties, subject, however, to the di-
rection or approval of the President
or of the Chapter. He shall conduct
all correspondence except that which
is the province of the Treasurer or
Recording Secretary in the discharge
of their duties.

He shall, during the first week of
March in each year, send to the Presi-
dent of the Agassiz Association a care-
fully prepared annual report of the
doings of this Chapter. Should this
Chanter at any time disband he shall
send immediate notice thereof, to the
President of the Agassiz Association.
Artice VI.
Meetings.

Section t. The annual meeting

120

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

shall be held on the last Saturday in
February.

Section 2. The President ma}- call
meetings at such times as may deem
expedient, and shall do so on the
written request of three or more mem-
bers-
Section 3. For the transaction of
business three members shall consti-
tute a quorum.

Section 4. Members shall be allow-
ed to invite friends to meetings of
the Chapter by consent of the pre-
siding officer.

Section 5. The order of exercises
at all regular meetings shall be: a.
Roll Call; b, Minutes of last meeting;
c, Treasurer's report ; d. Report of Cor-
responding Secretary ; e, Reports of
Committees ; f. Reports of members
on assignments, etc. ; g, Unfinished
business ; h, Miscellaneous business ;
i, Adjournment.

Article VII.
Veto-Powers.
Section 1. The President, or Vice-
President, shall have the power of veto

over the acts of the members in meet-
ing assembled.

Section 2. The records of any meet-
ing shall receive the approval of the
President or Vice-President before the
transactions of a meeting shall become
effective. Said approval may be by
declaration of the President or Vice-
President spread upon the records at
the time of adjournment or by written
approval upon the records.

Section 3. Any vote or resolution
may be passed over a veto by the votes
of three-fourths of the members
present at the same or next meeting.

Article VIII.
Parliamentary Usage.
In all matters of parliamentary
usage Cushing's Manual shall be the
recognized authority.

Article IX-
Amendments.
These By-Laws may be amended at
any regular meeting by vote of three-
fourths of the members present and
voting, said amendment having been
nroposed in writing at a prior meet-
ing.

Literary

BIOGRAPHICAL

Manual of Biological Projection and Anes-
thesia of Animals. A practical guide
in the selection and operation of pro-
jection apparatus, the methods of pre-
paring live animals and plants for
projection, the anesthesia of animals,
and the little knacks in manipulation
which insure success in projecting vi-
vographs. By Aaron Hodgman Cole,
A. M., Instructor in Biology and Pro-
jection in the Chicago Normal School.
Chicago: A. 11. Cole, 6022 Monroe Ave-
nue.

This hook practically exemplifies a
method of studying living minute organ-
isms that I have advocated and used for
many years. I firmly believe that such
projection is for most, objects far more
effective than is study under the compound
microscope.

The author has excellently worked out
many devices of convenience and advocates
extensively the use of chloretone.

It is hoped that the use of his methods

will encourage individual students to do
all the laboratory work that time and facil-
ities permit in the study of live organisms,
and will enable teachers to more wisely
direct biological study and thoroughly test
and properly broaden the student's knowl-
edge, while adding interest and creating
enthusiasm.

Practical Guide to the Wild Flowers and
Fruits. By George Lincoln Walton, M.
D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott
Company.

This book is based like Dana's and some
others on the color. Charts for each color
of llower or fruit have been so arranged
that a given specimen may be traced
through successive divisions to the group
in which it will be found.

The author has an especially kindly feel-
ing for other books for the same end, and
says this is to supplement not to compete
or to replace.

RECREATION $* VOL II JULY, 1909 No. 4 $* EDUCATION

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

BEGINNING WITH THIS ISSUE

ANOTHER MAGAZINE

IS MERGED IN=

The Guide to Nature

^ We cordially welcome the editor and the entire constituency of

"The Amateur Naturalist," published at Ashland, Maine, to hearty

cooperation in our work. Mr. Charles D. Pendell, the editor, will

not only aid in editorial work but will take active part in the
work of the AA. See first page " Publisher's Notices."

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASS1Z ASSOCIATION, ARCADIA, SOUND BEACH. CONNECTICUT
Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. • - Single Copy, 10 Cents

Entered as ••cond-clais matter June 12, 1909. at the post office, Sound Beach, Conn., under Act of March, 3, 1879

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Established 1838
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and Science of Health

Address

Fowler & Wells Co.

Phrenologists and Publishers
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PUBLISHERS NOTICES

WELCOMING NEW FRIENDS.

With this issue "The Amateur Naturalist," Ashland, Maine, is
merged into The Guide to Nature, as explained in the following letter
from the editor and publisher of that magazine:
To the Subscribers of "The Amateur Naturalist:"
Dear Friends :

When in January, 1904, I began the publication of 'The Amateur
Naturalist," it was but the consummation of a plan formed when a boy of
seven years I strolled with my father along the pebbly beach of Lake On-
tario and gathered my first collection of minerals. Then it was my
thoughts turned definitely toward the study of nature, and as the years
came and went, as my knowledge of the subject grew and my interest in the
unfolding the story of the great book of nature revealed in the rocks, the
trees, the plants, the birds, the insects, increased, the desire to publish such
information as I had gained and to co labor with others and increase among
my fellow men a love for the study of God's handiwork took form in my
mind and developed until "The Amateur Naturalist" began its career.

To publish this has been a work of pleasure, but also of sacrifice.
"The call of the wild" has been neglected while the editor sat at the case
setting type or ran the printing press. But new friendships were formed,
the mental horizon broadened and added information gathered into the
storehouse of knowledge, and it is with deep regret that the management of
"The Amateur Naturalist" is discontinued. But business cares and duties
are such that the editor finds it impossible to give it the care necessary.
The Guide to Nature follows the same lines as was intended by "The
Amateur Naturalist," but does so more successfully, and brings with it a
larger amount of experience and a corps of writers holdinp- allegiance to a
strong and influential nature society — The Agassiz Association. Into The
Guide To Nature, "The Amateur Naturalist" is therefore merged, and to u
I commend all my subscribers, and while I bid "The Amateur Naturalist"
a farewell, as must they, we may again meet in the columns of The Guide
to Nature.

Sincerely,

Charles D. Pendell,
Editor and Publisher of "The Amateur Naturalist."

Important News for Mineralogists.

We have secured a collection of ex-
ceptionally fine minerals collected by
an American professor of national re-
pute ; it is beyond doubt the finest col-
lection we have yet handled. It con-
sists of eight large cases of minerals
all of which are fine. Lists are in
preparation, and will be sent only on
application.
ax interesting collection of semi-
precious STONES.

We secured from a bankrupt sale
of a well known eastern concern whose
specialty was the cutting and polish-

ing of stones for mineralogists a
unicpie lot of cut semi-precious stones
of unusual beauty and rarity. They
must be seen to be appreciated. They
have been priced so low that the prices
do not tell the tale. We name a few
below; they run from 50c. to $2.50
each : unycite, perthite, aventurine,
green-trap, cinnabar, thulite, sunstone,
moonstone, amazonstone, chrysoprase
green chalcedony, sodalite, labrador-
ite, malachite, azurite, jade, turquoise,
ruby matrix, emerald matrix, rose
quartz, lapis-lazuli, jasper, agate, moss
agate, carnelian, moss opal, blood-

ADVERTISEMENT.

stone, thompsonite, chlorastrolite,
dumortierite, dioptase, the latest, from
Congo, at $1.50 per c. and all other
known semi and precious stones.

A TWO MONTHS BARGAIN SALE.

It has been usual for the past four
years to offer special inducements to
visit us during the summer months.
In order to do this, with little expense
to yourself, we offer you a 10% dis-
count on rare and polished minerals
and cut gems and 20% on ordinary
mineral specimens. This enables you
to pay your travelling expense with
the discount on your bill. If you are
able to visit us and see our wonderful
display, write us what you are inter-
ested in, and we will send you a box
on approval. We prefer to be busy
even if we have to divide our profits
with you. Don't delay but write or
call on us at once. This offer holds
good only for July and August.

If you have not yet received our new
12 page mineral and 10 page gem cir-
cular, write us and we will send them
at once. A. H. Petereit, 81-83-Fulton
Street, New York City.

Personal.
The Mineral Collector was merged
in The Guide To Nature with the ex-
pectation that the interests of mineral-
ogists would thereby be advanced.
The Guide to Nature is published by
gifts from friends and the membership
fees of a company of students and
lovers of nature known as The Agas-
siz Association. No one receives a sal-
ary nor any money compensation.
Many persons, including myself, de-
vote time and money to "the good of
the cause." If we were a business in-
stitution we would invest in the pub-
lication of a large, well illustrated de-
partment of "Mineralogy" and say,
"Behold the goods. Will you buy?"
But we are not a business ; we are a
co-operation and you are or should be
one of the co-operators. The ques-
tion is, what will you, and others do
to advance the interests of the cause?
You doubtless arc moie interested in
mineralogy than I. I am willing to
devote much time and some money,
but I cannot do all. If the burden is
left mostly to me, it comes too hard
on me and members of my family who
assist. If every mineralogist would
send his own subscription and that of
a friend (only one dollar and seventy-

five ($1.75) cents a year for the two)
and even one good article (not too
long) with illustrations, how, oh, how
the work would grow, what a fine de-
partment of many pages we could have.
How easy it would be for all !

Please try it.

Let us have the two subscriptions
and one article. I am willing to do
my part. I want to make the depart-
ment larger and better. What is your
vote? I cannot do it all.

Airedale Rabbitries

The Home of the Best Bred Dutch
and English Marked Rabbits in the
States. If you want quality, write
with stamps to

Robert Whitaker, Dalton, Mass.

The Condor

A Magazine of Western Ornithology.
Edited by J. Grinnell.

Associate Editors:
William L. Finley Robert B. Rockwell

"Official Organ of the Cooper Ornithological
Club."

Vol. XI, 1909

will contain the usual interesting articles
by live active ornithologists and will be
illustrated by the highest class of half
tones. You cannot afford to miss a num-
ber.

Published bi-monthly at Hollywood,
California. Subscription: $1.50 per year
net in advance. Single copies: 30c each.
Foreign subscription: $1.75.

J. Eugene Law, Business Manager

Hollywood, California.

W. Lee Chambers, Assistant Manager,

Santa Monica, California,

"CTucty 3d] tr>ar in Ctrcabta geborert." — "Travels in Italy" by Goethe.

The monogram of the AA weaves into Arcadia.

ArcAdiA

Our beloved AA is the beginning and
center, the center and end, and the be-
ginning and end of the new nature Arca-
dia. In fact, the principle of The Agassiz
Association, "study nature, not books,"
was the foundation of Arcadia; it is our
constant aim, and it permeates all our
work.

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The world's work must be done, and only a small part of it can be done in the
woods and fields. The merchants may not all turn ploughmen and woodchoppers. Nor
is it necessary. What we need to do, and are learning to do, is to go to nature for
our rest and health and recreation. — Dallas Lore Skarpe in "The Lav of the Lam/."

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

JULY, 1909

No. 4

outdooh world

In the Laramie Beds of Wyoming

BY CHARLES H. STERNBERG, LAWRENCE, KANSAS

HE beds of grey or yellow-
ish sandstone, massive or
cross-bedded with inter-
spaces filled with clay, and
thin beds of marie, have,
scattered through them,
concretions, ranging in size
from a small marble to
eight inches in diameter; also many
large flint-like masses of very peculiar
shapes, often they are elongate, over
a hundred feet long, and only two or
three feet thick. They are often in
the form of great flattened disks, when
the soft sand is worn away by erosion,
the pillars capped with these disks re-
semble mushrooms. I saw one that
resembled the face of a man with skull
cap ; another like a laughing baby,
and so on in endless array of strange
forms. The sculptury of the land
masses is different from any region I
have explored. These beds were de-
posited in the border-land between
the Age of Reptiles and Mammals.

The great dinosaurs whose -ponderous
weight once shook the earth, are on
the verge of total annihilation, and
the dawn of the age of mammals is
foreshadowed by the presence of small
marsupial-like mammals.

From what I have written you will
expect a rough, cut up land in the
Laramie, owing to the fragile nature
of the rock, I will venture to say there
is no good building stone in the for-
mation, for though there is a layer
of hard flinty rock that tops some of
the tablelands, it falls into flint like
flakes that soon disintegrate. The
main drainage canals as soon as they
leave the flood plains of the principle
creeks, or rivers retreat by way of
deep gorges, often quite narrow.
Many lateral ravines scour out the
country into narrow canyons, sepa-
rated by ridges, or they may meet one
that is encroaching the divide from the
other side and a great table land is
formed that gradually recedes to the

124

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

"THE PILLARS CAPPED WITH THESE DISKS RESEMBLE MUSHROOMS"

center, and a cone shaped mound is
the result. They stand up in groups
often against the distant horizon and
resemble havstacks. The canvons

are often bridged by the narrow con-
cretion-like hardened masses of rock,
or they stand out along an escarpment
like balconies to some titanic building.

"THEY STAND UP IN GROUPS OFTEN AGAINST THE DISTANT HORIZON

AND RESEMBLE HAYSTACKS"

IN THE LARAMIE BEDS OF WYOMING.

125

The entire region covering many
square miles is destitute of human
habitation except a sheep ranch or two
and a few sheep or cattle men. In
this solitude the writer and his three
sons entered last summer to collect
the wondrous dinosaurs, those
mighty lizards. The largest known
entire skeleton from an older forma-
tion, Diplodocus Carnegie was named
after the famous Iron King. It meas-
ures 17 feet high at the hips and is 82
feet in length. Here, in Converse Co.,
Wyo., we spent several months with

gin

When these beds were elevated
above tide-water the water running off
them, descended into the fresh water
lakes of the Laramie age, and formed
her thousand feet of strata. Now these
semi- deserts are elevated 5,000 above
sea-level. Then they were near the
sea. In fact salt water beds are some-
times found in the formation. We
imagine it a country of morrasses and
bayous like the Everglades of Florida,
with narrow, deep, and sluggish
streams, that winds their sullen course
slowly among the cat tails, and swamp

s**w.

"QUARRYING" TO SECURE THOSE WONDROUS DINOSAURS

our horses, wagon and tent. Before
we left the field we got 65 miles from
our base of supplies. The Laramie
Beds seem to occupy a great basin
whose outer rim consists of the yel-
lowish sandstones, of the Fox Hills
Group, filled with massive brown
concretions in which are numbers
of shells, Amonites, etc., all ma-
rine animals. Farther back are
the great deposits of clay, the
Fort Pierre Group, filled with alka-
line matter that permeates all the sur-
face and spring water. Here great
Baculites several feet in length and
other shells attest their salt water ori-

grass ; while on the ridges between,
solid ground, the Palmatoe and other
trees flourish in great jungles of semi-
tropical growth. The silent glassy
flow of one of the streams suddenly
is agitated by the vibrations of a pow-
erful tail whose rapid undulatory mo-
tion casts off riffle after riffle of little
wavelets, that expand and spread to
either shore. Suddenly they cease,
and a huge head full three feet in
length, appears above the water, as
also the short, heavy neck that sup-
ports it. The head terminates in a
broad bill, shaped like that of a duck,
armed with a sharp cutting edge of

126

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

"WE SPENT SEVERAL MONTHS WITH OUR HORSES, WAGON AND TENT"

horn. While farther back in the roof
and floor of the mouth are great maga-
zines holding 2,000 teeth. The cutting
edges of these teeth are arranged like
a pair of scissors on each side of the
mouth, and as the duck-bill crops the

rank vegetation they are cut by the
teeth behind, as an old-fashioned straw
cutter used to cut the straw pushed
through it. But the huge lizard, for it
is a lizard, is hungry, so resting with
his hind limbs planted firmly on the

A ELOCK OF SHEEP ON GREASEWOOD CREEK, CONVERSE COUNTY, WYOMING

Photograph by Geo. F. Sternberg.

IN THE LARAMIE BEDS OF WYOMING.

127

bottom with the front ones that are
much smaller, only one sixth as large
as the hind ones, begin to draw into
a huge month, great armsfnl of the
juicy foliage, which he nips off with
his duck-bill and passes baek to be
cut into shreds with the scissor-like
teeth. As part of the body is still hid-
den in the water we can not realize
the huge dimensions of this lizard, un-
til weary of feeding, he pushes a path-
way through the dense foliage to the

length follow a flattened swimming
organ, whose undulatory motion had
cast so many wavelets against the
rushes that lined the bayou.

As he rises on his hind feet the wa-
ter pours off a brilliantly colored body
with scales arranged in beautiful pat-
terns, as if to imitate the various col-
ored rank vegetation among which he
lives. There, he stands a monument of
grace and beauty, and he must be
twenty feet in height. He darts his

BREASTBONE AND FRONT OF SKELETON OF THE GREAT TRACHODON

NOW IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
Showing the dermal covering and also the limbs at right angles to body as it lay in the
quarry in the Laramie Beds of Converse County, Wyoming.

Photograph by Geo. F. Sternberg.

solid land, and with the aid of his fore
feet pulls himself out on the shore.
His huge hind limbs eight feet in
length with three powerful toes are
armed with hoofs of horn. While his
front ones are but five feet long, hav-
ing three hoofs and a rudimentary one
that is used as a clumsy "thumb for
grasping. A great tail some ten feet in

duck-bill out in all directions as if
scenting the air for his natural enemy.
As if satisfied he drops to the ground,
and assumes his natural position when
on land, moving gracefully along on
all four limbs. His back and rounded
hips, swell in beauteous curves, and
his flexible scale-covered skin folds in
handsome lines, its bright colors har-

128

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

monize with the sparkling vegetation
that surrounds him. But hark ! the
silence is broken by a roaring or his-
sing sound, that momentarily grows
louder. Our lizard stands erect as if
to note the direction of the sound, then
with leaps and strides he bounds for
the open water, his only place of safety.
As he stoops for motive power to leap
into the stream, a bolt as of
thunder strikes him on the hips with
a shock that causes the earth to trem-
ble, our saurian has received a mortal
wound and he sinks into the water and
disappears from view.

the end of a massive head, armed with
lancet-like teeth some four inches in
length. His five toes are armed with
huge claws with which to tear and
rend his victim. But he disappears in
the forest. After the gases form in
our duck-billed dinosaur, his carcass
is raised to the surface, and carried
head first with the current. The head
drags under the shoulder, and in time
the abdominal wall allows the gases
to escape the walls collapse, and,
stretched on his back at full length, it
sinks to burial in the white sand below.
This sand rapidly fills the abdominal

SKULL OF THE FAMOUS TRACHODON NOW IN AMERICAN MUSEUM
When cleaned the entire skin impression was found nearly intact in the fine sandstone.
The skull lay under the body. Photograph by Charles H. Sternberg.

His conqueror strides along the
shore, lashing himself with his power-
ful tail, and emitting angry hisses as
his prey goes down. We have a good
view of this greatest of all carniverous
dinosaur named by Prof. Osborn, Ty-
rano saurus, rex., the king of tyrants
among lizards. He measures thirty-
nine feet from the end of his tail to

cavity and piles up around the body
and preserves it in its normal position.
Time wings its flight and slowly the
continent is raised, west of the Missis-
sippi to the tune of the waters of the
Colorado River, which carve out its
right of way at the rate of elevation,
with its tools gravel and sand.

The scene changes. The father and

IN THE LARAMIE BEDS OF WYOMING.

129

BROXT03AURUS (UPPERS

*— ., ■■.v.'O)

DINOSAUR (LOWERS

130

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

four sons for weeks have explored the
Lance Creek, Greasewood and Schnei-
der Creek regions without success.
Every night the father asked the sons,
What luck? and received the same an-
swer, Nothing. But one day late in
August my oldest son, George, who
has been my chief assistant in the fos-
sil fields of the west for twelve years
went down a ravine he had worked in
without success, accompanied by his
voung brother Levi and he stumbled
upon the burial ground of the very
Dinosaur we saw in imagination, when
this old world was young. Time
would fail me to tell of the anxiety,
care, labor and expense before that
noblest of all the specimens of duck-
billed dinosaurs that has been found,
reached in safety the great American
Museum of Natural History, 77th
Street and Central Park, New York.
Prof. Osborn gave me the help of his
able preparators, and their skill
uncovered the impressions of the
dermal covering in the soft and
easilv disintegrated grey sandstone.
It was purchased, and at last
described, in part at least, before
the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science at their Balti-
more meeting last December during
the holidays. President Osborn of the
American Museum told the scientific
world gathered there of this wonder-
ful animal. The museum has two
splendidly prepared and mounted
specimens. This specimen weighed
4,400 pounds and it took four horses
to haul it in to Lusk, 65 miles away.

Note- :The cuts on the preceding page are lent by
Henry Holt & Company, New York City, and are from "The
Life of a Fossil Hunter" (Sternberg).

It is the dare-devil and those who
handle dangerous reptiles only for the
sake of doing a daring act that receive
fatal injuries. Usually it is not the

Handling the Banded Rattlesnake.

BY C. A. CLARK, LYNX, MASSACHUSETTS.

It is dangerous even to make an at-
tempt to handle a live rattlesnake or
any other poisonous reptile, unless one
is experienced and has some correct
knowledge of its habits. It is more
dangerous to handle these deadly rep-
tiles with gloves than with the bare
hands, as gloves deaden the feeling,
and one cannot tell whether or not he
is holding the snake just right. The
scientific naturalist always handles
them without gloves.

C. A. CLARK HAXDLIXG A LARGE

BANDED RATTLESNAKE (CROTALUS

HORRIDUS)

Photograph by L. A. Wentworth, Lynn,
Massachusetts.

scientific man. We are all liable to
make mistakes, but as a rule the cool-
headed naturalist generally gets
through this world without any seri-
ous accidents from these deadly rep-
tiles. Handling live rattlesnakes is
not a pleasure, and people are scarce
who will make any attempt even to
get near them in their natural haunts.
It is a wise person who runs from a
rattlesnake, and when I come in con-

HANDLING THE BANDED RATTLESNAKE.

131

tact with one I always rim too but it

is right in among the ledges and
bushes, with forked stick in one hand
and a strong black duck bag in the
other. I always go in at the side of
a dangerous snake and never in front,
because there are too man}- chances
to be assumed by frontal approach.
As soon as I get near enough I pin the
snake down with my forked stick over
its neck, and. reaching down with my
right hand, I seize it with my thumb
and forefinger close to the jaws. Some
persons think that this is too near its
mouth, but such persons are in error,
because every joint in the backbone
is a ball-and-socket, and if I should
take the snake no further than one-
half inch behind the jaws, and not
have my thumb and forefinger close
against them, it would give the rep-
tile a chance to turn and hook his
fangs into some part of my hand.

In the upper jaw of a rattlesnake
on each side is a poison gland and
from each gland is a canal which runs
down to the two fangs, and when these
fangs enter our iiesh the pressure
forces the poison through the canal,
through the two hollow fangs and
into the flesh. The amount of venom
which a rattlesnake injects is about
one grain, enough to kill a human
"being.

For the last twenty-five years I have
handled and captured every species of
snake in Essex County, and have
never been bitten by any, but when
a rattler shall puncture my veins with
his two poison fangs I shall abandon
"nature study" and give the under-
taker a job. If we have steady nerves
and a true knowledge of the snakes'
habits there is not much danger.
Snakes are as much afraid of us as
we are of them and they will always
try to make their escape. Rattle-
snakes will generally give us warning
by shaking their rattles, and when we
hear the sound, which is more like that
•of escaping steam than like a rattle,
it means danger ahead. I think the
rattlesnake is in a way a fair snake to
■deal with, because it will give us warn-
ing, while the deadly copperhead will
;not.

There are thirteen species of rattle-

snakes in the United States but only
the banded rattlesnake is found in
Essex County, and that is growing
scarcer every year.

The illustration shows the only safe
way in which to hold such a snake.

Lying in a rattlesnakes' den is not
at all dangerous because they know
when we are there and will not appear
for some time after we leave the place.

Few persons understand much about
the banded or timber snake (Crotalus
horrid us) which is the only rattlesnake
found in Essex County. I therefore
take pleasure in giving some of the
facts. It grows to a length of five feet,
and has has been known to have as
many as fifteen young in one brood,
but as a rule the number is only from
seven to twelve. The young when
born vary in length from seven to
twelve inches, and have a soft button
on the tip of the tail. In a few days they
shed their skin and begin to feed on
mice and other small animals. They
grow rapidly, and in about two months
they shed the skin for the second time,
after which they have the first rattle
which is soft and black. In a few
days the button becomes dry, and
when the tail is shaken it produces
a faint buzzing, caused by the loosely
attached button rasping against the
rattle. The first rattle appears at
about the last of the season, and it is
then time for the snake to enter win-
ter quarters in the sunny side of hills
and ledges. The first warm days of
April bring them out again and from
that time onward they grow very rap-
idly.

In the first part of June they shed
their skin again and then the second
rattle appears, which is larger than
the first one. Every succeeding rattle
grows larger with the growth of the
snake. After the first year the rattle-
snake sheds its skin three times a
year — spring, midsummer and fall, ana
it has a new rattle after each shedding,
which makes three rattles a year after
the first year, and thus continues un-
til maturity when growth ceases.

The food of a rattlesnake consists of
mice, ground squirrels and other small
rodents. If the rattlesnakes eat
enough at one meal to satisfy them

132

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

they will eat only about three times
through the season, but if they eat
only a little, such as a single mouse,
they will eat again in about two
weeks.

The young rattlesnakes are provided
with teeth and poison fangs when
born, and the two poison glands in
the upper jaw contain the venom
ready for immediate use.

Snakes take water frequently and
after eating are very sluggish until
their food is digested. They also take
regular baths.

A rattlesnake can spring to a dis-
tance equalling, at the most, from
about one-half to two-thirds of its
length, and will generally strike below
the knee if a person is standing. It
is not necessary for a rattlesnake to
coil before it bites because its two
poison fangs are very sharp and all
it has to do is to bend its neck into
an S-shape and hook on, when the
fangs quickly penetrate the flesh.

Snakes' tongues, wrongly called
stingers, are harmless. They are
used to feel the way while the snake
is blind, which is for only a few days
while shedding the skin, an event that
occurs three times a year.

When I am handling a live rattle-
snake I can feel a buzzing vibration
all through the snake's body when it
is rattling, and I have a similar feel-
ing in my fingers and hands. The
sensation is like that caused by a
slight shock from an electric battery.

How snakes crawl is to most per-
sons a mystery. In order to see the
movement, we should have to see a
living skeleton, and if we could do
that we should see all of its ribs in
motion. The ribs are the snake's legs
while the belly scales are its feet,
therefore the movement is internal
and cannot be seen.

Rattlesnakes are among the most
deadly of reptiles and should be
feared by all.

P6PULWU\STRdN5MY

The Heavens in July.

BY PROF. S. ALFRED MITCHELL, OF
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.

The most interesting astronomical
object for the year 1909 is unquestion-
ably the planet Mars, which comes
closer to the earth than it has since
the year 1892. Much will be written in
newspapers and magazines concerning
the ruddy planet, and it would be well
to know how much to believe of what
is written, or how big a grain of salt
to take. Already we hear talk of sig-
nalling to Mars by mirror and by wire-
less. Mars, like the earth, is a planet
and circles the sun in its orbit. The
earth goes about the sun almost in a
circle with the sun only a million and
a half miles from its center. As every-
body knows, the distance from the
earth to the sun is nearly 93,000,000
miles. The average distance to Mars

is 1-52 times greater than this, or 141,-
500,000 miles, but its orbit does not so
closely approximate a circle, for the
sun is 13,000,000 miles away form the
centre, so that the greatest distance from
sun to Mars is 154,500,000 miles, the
least distance 128,500,000 miles. It
needs only an elementary knowlege of
astronomy to enable anyone to draw
the approximate paths of earth and
Mars about the sun, and the whole
orbits may readily be plotted out by
the aid of a ruler and pair of com-
passes. Draw a circle with a radius of
2.33 inches. The center S of this circle
will represent the sun, and the circle
the path of the earth. Draw any di-
ameter of the circle. Lay off a dis-
tance, S M, equal to 0.33 inches, with
M as centre draw a circle with radius
of 3.53 inches. This second circle will
closely represent the orbit of Mars.

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

i33

The closest possible approach of the
two planets takes place when earth is
at A, and Mars at B ; this distance is
evidently (128,500,000 — 93,000,000) ,
353.-2 millions of miles. In 1909 the
distance is 38^2 millions.

The earth goes about the sun in a
year of 36554 days. Mars travels
slower and takes 687 clays. If the sun,

the earth every two years and fifty
days. A look at the small diagram
will show after a favorable opposition
takes place, that Mars is farther off
at each successive opposition till the
time of the least favorable approach
happens, when the distance is 154,-
500,000 — 93,000,000, or 6iy2 million
miles. Favorable oppositions re-occur

Evening SkyMap for JULY

JULY MOON PHASES.
FIRST QUARTER. JULY 25
FULL MOON. JULY 3
LAST QUARTER. JULY 10
NEW AAOON. JULY 17.

imf

Columb'a
Uniircrsiy

FACE SOUTH AND
HOLD THL MAP OVER
YOUR HEAD -THE TOP
NORTH. AND YOU WILL SEE
THE STARS AND PLANETS
JU5T AS THEY APPEAR
INTHEH£AVEN3

SOUTH

earth and Mars are in a straight line,
with planet and sun on opposite sides
of the earth, Mars is said to be in op-
position, opposite the sun, and conse-
quently comes on the meridian at mid-
night. As earth moves quicker about
the sun, it takes it some time to gain
a lap in the celestial course, and it is
but an elementary exercise in arith-
metic to show that the time required
is 780 days. This is the synodic pe-
riod, the time from opposition to op-
position. Thus Mars will be close to

after seven synodic revolutions or
once every fifteen years, and the most
favorable oppositions are those which
happen about the middle of August.
In 1907, opposition occurred in July,
in 1909 in September, so that neither
are so well situated as those of 1892
and 1877. But the opposition of the
present year is more favorable than
that of 1907, first, because Mars is a
little closer, and second, because it has
a greater declination, and so is high-
er up towards the zenith and better

134

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

situated for astronomical observations.

That the earth is the only inhabited
spot in the universe no one is rash
enough to assert. Of the bodies of
our solar system, life at all approxi-
mating what we have on the earth is
possible only on Mars. It resembles
the earth in a great many features, its
day is about the same length as ours,
it is tilted in its orbit approximately
the same amount, so that the seasons
progress nearly the same as for the
earth, with the polar ice caps to show
the effect of winter. Mars is much
smaller than the earth, only 4,200
miles in diameter, instead of 7,918, and
is probably much older. Life is found
in such abundance on the earth in all
varieties and under such adverse con-
ditions, in the midst of the tropical
desert and in the rigors of the Arctic
winter. The South Pole expedition
found that small animals frozen in the
ice for three years resumed their vital-
ity when thawed out, and deep sea
soundings have brought to light ma-
rines found living under almost in-
comprehensible pressures.

Verily, life exists on the earth under
apparently impossible conditions !
Such things we must remember when
we turn our telescopes on Mars and
find there conditions utterly opposite
to life as we know it on the earth.
That there is life on Mars undoubtedly
is possible, that there is life of some
sort there seems almost certain, but
that it has been proven that Mars is
inhabited by thinking, rational human
beings "is another story." To prove
this would be the greatest triumph of
the age. But to hold communication
with them by mirrors or wireless or by
some other means! It is almost too
great a leap of the imagination!

The difficulties of signalling opera-
tions are readily apparent . If we
place ourselves on the earth almost in
a straight line between sun and Mars,
it doesn't at once seem clear how we
could reflecl lighl through an angle
of almost [80 degrees, or how if we
were the men on Mars it would be pos-
sible to see the signals from earth with
it almost in line with the sun. To see
our signals it would require that the.
people <m Mars pay far- '-loser atten-

tion to appearances on earth than we
are paying to infinitessimal changes of
light in the evening star Venus.

We must also confess our ignorance
of the methods whereby the learned
professor from Amherst, even if he
in his specially constructed balloon,
should succeed in reaching the great
altitude of ten miles from mother
earth, is going to recognize the
"sounds" from Mars, 38,499,990 miles
away, more readily than those from
earth but ten miles off. Indeed we
read many strange things these days !

Mars, the god of war for the an-
cients, has become the planet of war
for the astronomers, for there is unfor-
tunately a great lack of unanimity
among observers of Mars. Let us
hope that the 1909 opposition may
bring a little more order out of the
chaos !

THE PLANETS

The month of July is very impor-
tant in planetary history. Mercury is
a morning star and reaches its great-
est western elongation on the 7th.
Venus is an evening star and is be-
coming more and more conspicuous
each night. On July 15 it sets more
than an hour and a half later
than the sun. On July 1st Mars is a
morning star in the constellation
Pisces and rises at 11 P. M. ; at the
middle of the month it rises half an
hour earlier. Its motion, among the
stars is direct. Jupiter still continues
to be a brilliant object in the heavens
though it is slowly getting further
west each night. Saturn is a morn-
ing star, rising about midnight. It is
at quadrature July 15. On July 11
Uranus reaches opposition, and may
readily be picked itp as a sixth magni-
tude star by the help of the map. On
the 9th of the month Neptune is in
conjunction with the sun.

Mr. O. J. Lee, at the Yerkes obser-
vatory, during the past few months
has made a number of photographs
with the two-foot reflector in an at-
tempt to locate 1 1 alley's comet, and
found that it must have been fainter
than the 17th magnitude since it was
not discovered on his plates. The
comet is now almost in line with the

ORNITHOLOGY.

135

sun ami its discovery is not possible
for a month or two.

Profs. Hale and Ritchey, of the Car-
negie Solar observatory at Alt. Wilson,
California, have found a firm in Paris
willing to undertake the carting" of the
disk of glass for the mirror ioo inches
in diameter and the contract has been
let. It will be remembered that after
bringing the former disk a year ago
from Paris to Alt. Wilson, such bad
defects were found in it as to render
it worthless for telescopic purposes.

The mirror five feet in diameter has
been mounted there, and preliminary
observations show it to be of magnifi-
cent definition.

CONSTELLATIONS

As usual the chart shows the sky
as it appears at 9 J'. M. on the first
of the month, at 8 o'clock on the 15th
or at 7 P. M. at the end. The four
prominent stars are Arcturus and
Spica west of the meridian, Vega and
Altair east.

•®

ORNITHOLOGY J

The Cat and The Birds.

BY ELIZABETH BREWSTER, SUMMIT, NEW
JERSEY.

The sunny slope between the din-
ing room window and the old spruce
tree is a rendezvous for birds. Late
in the fall, the house mother hung a
piece of suet to a low bough and here
all winter came chickadees and wood-
peckers to feast and once a tufted tit-
mouse ventured shyly to try this fare.
The blue jays came too, but they were
less welcome. The house mother mis-
trusted them and feared their bullying
her other pets.

But one day she changed her mind.
Spring had come. The robins and
song sparrows were busy building
their nests and the sunn}' slope by the
spruce tree gave them many a tuft of
dry grass for lining".

Then came trouble. A black cat
with cruel yellow eyes found the spot.
She hid under the spruce bough or
climbed stealthily up the rough trunk
of the tree. The little mother threw
stones which never hit and the black
cat only smiled.. Even a broom only
made Mrs. Puss run a few steps.
Early one morning the little mother
heard a clamor. Robins and blue jays
were wailing and screaming. She of deep snows were very favorable

looked out. The black cat was
crouched on a branch of the spruce
tree and circling round and round her
were two jays and three robins.
Nearer and nearer they flew, until
even the hardened cat could stand it
no longer. And slowly at first, then
faster and faster, she backed away and
at last gave one dash over the fence.
The next morning" back she came.
So did the birds and the result was
the same. The third day she came,
cautiously, and just one jay perched
above her, straightened out her strong
neck, gave a swoop and a cry, and the
black cat fled. May she never come
back.

Notes on Spring Migrations in North-
ern New Jersey.

BY R. C. CASKEY, MoRRTSTOWX, NEW
J ERSEY.

The migrations of the present spring-
have shown some peculiarities. In
fact every migration season has its un-
usual features, due probably to unsea-
sonable weather either in the immedi-
ate vicinity or at some remote point.

The- past winter was an unusual
one. The moderate temperature dur-
ing most of the time and the absence

136

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

for birds, and many that generally mi-
grate were with us through the entire
season.

Meadow larks and white-throated
sparrows, of which we generally have
only a few during the cold months,
were very common all through the
winter. On New Year's day I flushed
twenty- four meadow larks in one field
and on Washington's Birthday they

were in full song.

Field sparrows which have never
before been known to winter here
were fairly common all the season,
and even a few fox sparrows remained
with us. A chewink was seen here on
December 19th and a phoebe on De-
cember 14th.

In such a winter it is hard to ac-
count for the presence of redpolls but
they were unusually common as were
also American crossbills.

The first spring migrants were seen
on February 13th ,011 which date I
saw two purple grades. On February
22nd red-winged blackbirds were seen
and were singing.

These first arrivals were unusually
early. Then followed a period of cold
weather, with snow, sleet and high
winds, lasting until the middle of
March and retarding the migrations
so that the next lot of arrivals was no
earlier than usual.

The coming of the first swallow is
always hailed with joy but the one
white-bellied swallow, which I saw on
March 31st, only served to make good
the old adage that one swallow does
not make a summer, for the first part
of April was truly March-like.

The migration of the warblers is
watched by bird lovers with the keen-
est interest, and the sight of a Yellow
Palm on April 7th was a real delight.
The next arrival of the warbler fam-
ily was a Louisiana water-thrush on
the ()th but not until the 18th did the
myrtles appear. One yellow warbler
was observed on April 1st very early,
but no more were seen until May 4th.
There was a very large Might of warb-
lers on May 15th, the beautiful black-
burnian being really abundant on that
date. A few of the rarer bay-breasted
were seen. On that date I noted six-
teen species of warblers and on the

1 6th twenty. On the date of writing,
May 27th, the migrations are practi-
cally over; a few black-poll warblers
being yet with us and perhaps some
olive and gray-cheeked thrushes are
still to be seen.

The beneficial effect of the anti-
spring-shooting law has been clearly
shown by the unusual number of ducks
and geese on our meadows this year.
Not for a long time have they been
so numerous or so easily observed.

It was my privilege to witness re-
cently in company with two other
bird lovers a most unusual sight. We
had gone to the neighborhood of the
bushes that fringed the bank of a
stream, to observe some small birds,
when our attention was attracted by
what appeared to be, at a distance of
about a hundred feet, several very
strongly marked black-and-white birds.

Closer observation showed them to
be the heads of seven Canada geese
which were quietly sitting by the
edge of the water. They seemed to be
no more alarmed at our presence than
if they had belonged to the barnyard
and been accustomed to the society
of human beings. They allowed us to
approach to within fifty feet of them
and to level our field glasses and look
as long as we liked. On our closer
approach they quietly took to the
water and started to swim down
stream which was not more than
twenty feet wide, and it wras only when
one of the party ran to the edge of the
water and headed them off that they
finally took wing, forming as they flew
the well known wedge. Until then we
were not sure that they were not do-
mesticated specimens that had escaped
from some preserve.

The Horrors of the Plume Trade.

BY WILLIAM BUTCHER, NEW YORK CITY.

Ignoring the economic value of wild
birds, which alone should be a suf-
ficient reason for their preservation,
there is another reason why none
should be killed for millinery orna-
ments. The horrors attending the col-
lection of plumes of Herons is beyond
the powers of language to describe,
and can best be shown pictorially.
Much has been written on the subject

ORNITHOLOGY.

i37

in the past, and it seems almost im-
possible that any woman who reads
current bird literature or the public
press can fail to know the extreme
cruelty attending the traffic in wild-
bird plumage. The American women
who are still willing to wear the
plumes of the white Herons sometimes
offer as an excuse that they are not
taken from native Herons ; but it
is immaterial whether the birds were

false. Human skill cannot reproduce
a feather, and, after the breeding sea-
son, all herons' plumes are worn and
ragged, and are, therefore, unfit for
use.

Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, of Mel-
bourne, graphically describes the hor-
rors he witnessed at a heron rookery
in New South Wales, which had been
raided by plume-hunters and verified
his statements by the camera.*

BROODING EGRET— THE DORSAL TRAIN OF NUPTIAL
PLUMES ARE HANGING OVER THE TAIL FEATHERS.
Photographed by A. H. E. Mattingley.

killed in America or in some other part
of the world. The same cruelty is
practiced in the Eastern Hemisphere
as in the Western. The paltry price
in money that is paid for the plumes
is not to be compared to the price paid
in blood and suffering.

Women must remember:

That white herons wear the covet-
ed plumes only during the breeding
season.

That the parent birds must be shot
in order to obtain the plumes.

That the young birds in the nests
must starve, in consequence of the
death of the parents.

That all statements that the plumes
are manufactured or are gathered after
being molted by the adult birds are

* Reprinted by permission from "The Emu," the official or;

"Notwithstanding the extreme heat
and the myriads of mosquitos, I deter-
mined to revisit the locality during my
Christmas holidays, in order to obtain
one picture only — namely, that of a
white crane, or egret, feeding its
young. When near the place, I could
see some large patches of white, either
floating in the water, or reclining on
the fallen trees in the vicinity of the
egret's rookery. This set me specula-
ting as to the cause of this unusual
sight. As I drew nearer, what a spec-
tacle met my gaze — a sight that made
my blood fairly boil with indignation.
There, strewn on the floating water-
weed, and also on adjacent logs, were
at least fifty carcasses of large white
and smaller plumed egrets — nearly

:an of the Australian Ornithologists' Union.

138

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

THE COST OF A PLUME. THE PICTURE TELLS ITS OWN TALE
Photographed by A. H. E. Mattingley.

one-third of the rookery, perhaps more
— the birds having been shot off their
nests containing young. What a holo-
caust ! 1 'hindered for their plumes.
What a monument of human callous-

ness ! There were fifty birds ruthlessly
destroyed, besides their young- (about
200) left to die of starvation! This
last fact was betokened by at least sev-
enty carcasses of the nestlings, which

AWAITING THR END— TOO WEAK TO STAXD OR CRY FOR FOOD-
DEATH WILL BE A HAPPY RELEASE
Photographed by A. H. E. Mattingley.

ORNITHOLOGY.

139

had become so weak that their legs
had refused to support them, and they
had fallen from the nests into the
water below, and had been miserably
drowned; while, in the trees above, the
remainder of the parentless young
ones could be seen staggering in the
nests, some of them falling with a
splash into the water, as their waning"
strength left them too exhausted to
hold up any longer, while others sim-
ply stretched themselyes out on the
nest and so expired. Others, again.

manner such beautiful birds — the em-
bodiment of all that is pure, graceful
and good?

"In one tree at the heronry the
nests of the plumed egret (Me^ophoyx
plumifera ) and egret | Herodias timo-
ric/isis) were seen. In another large
tree a photo was taken of two young
plumed egret and one young large
egret together in the same nest.
These three birds were the sole sur-
yiyors of several broods of both spe-
cies which had nested together in the

FATHERLESS AXD .MOTHERLESS— XO ONE TO FEED THEM—
GROWING WEAKER— OXE ALREADY DEAD FROM STARVA-
TION AXD, EXPOSURE
Photographed by A. H. E. Mattingley.

were seen trying in vain to attract the
attention of passing egrets, which
were flying with food in their bills to
feed their own young, and it was a
pitiful sight indeed to see these starve-
lings with outstretched necks and gap-
ing bills imploring the passing birds
to feed them. What a sickening sight !
How my heart ached for them! How
could any one but a cold-blooded, cal-
lous monster destroy in this wholesale

same tree. They had evidently
sought one another's company, be-
cause all the balance of the nest-
lings had expired through lack of
nourishment, their parents having
been shot by the plume-hunters,
or, rather, 'plume-plunderers.'1

A like gruesome story is given by
Mr. William L. Finley, Northwest
Field Agent of the National Associa-
tion of Audubon Societies, after he had

14.0

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

explored the region about Lake Mal-
heur, Oregon, where formerly thou-
sands of White Herons bred, but now
none are to be found — all absolutely
exterminated by plume-hunters.

Every aigrette we see, whether
adorning (spare the mark) a woman's
head, or for sale in the shops, has been
torn from the body of a dead heron.
This vandalism will not cease while
the reward of gold lasts, unless the
heart of fashion changes or drastic
laws are enacted forbidding the sale
of herons' plumes irrespective of from
what part of the world the plumes are
taken.

This unholy trade must be stamped
out. — Leaflet of The Audubon Society.

Cedar Birds Feign Death.

BY O. M. MAKOWSKY, STAMFORD, CON-
NECTICUT.

The cedar bird may well be called a
trick bird instead of a songster. In
the summer of 1881 when I lived in
the village of Helmetta, New Jersey,
I went walking along the ponds look-
ing for magnolias and water lilies and
chanced to notice two young cedar

birds perched closely together on one
limb of a mulberry tree and saw that
they were asleep. I went to the fac-
tory and got a large box and put it
under the limb of the tree where the
birds were, so that I could stand on
it, to catch them. Both birds were
easily caught. I then took them home,
closed all the doors and windows and
put both birds on a table to find out
if they could fly as they were nearly
full grown. To my astonishment both
were apparently dead. I opened one
of the windows and dropped both
birds outside, and to my great sur-
prise they flew away.

A few years after while in New
York City, I chanced to see an Ara-
bian exhibiting some birds on the
street. One of the birds, a paroquet,
fired off a small toy cannon, aiming
it at a cedar bird. When the cannon
was set off, the cedar bird fell over,
giving one the impression that the bird
was dead. Then I recalled how the
birds I had seen before played the trick
on me. I therefore think a cedar bird
should be called a trickster instead of
a singster, as he has not much song
anyway.

GREBES ON CRANE LAKE
A realistic bird group at the American Museum of Natural History.

AQUARIUM.

141

Under the Auspices of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia, Herman T. Wolf, Editor

Domesticated Air-Breathing Fishes.

A number of the smaller species of
the large family of Labyrinthici or
tropical lung-fishes have been domesti-
cated to an aquarium existence in Eu-
rope, and some of them are now bred
in the United States. Among these
are the Formosa paradise fish or flag-
fin, the Indian paradise fish, macro-
pode or large-fin ; the Indian gourami,
the Siamese fighting fish, the Ben-
galese thread )fish, the East Indian
climbing perch and archer perch, and
the dwarfed South American chan-
chito ; all native of the intertropical
belt and requiring warm water for
their existence.

Peculiarities of formation of the
labyrinth enables these fishes to ab-
sorb oxygen not only from the water
but also directly from the air, for
which reason they are easily kept in
small aquaria and do not require the
well-aerated water necessary to the
existence of other freshwater fishes.

Three species are generally known
in the United States and are most in-
teresting pets ; the Paradise fish, the
Gourami and the dwarf Chanchito. Of
these the former has been the longest
introduced and is the better known to
aquariists.

The Indian Paradise fish, Macropo-
dus viridi-auratus is derived by selec-
tion from the common Macropode,
M. venestrus, native to the rice fields
of Formosa, Southern China and East
India. The male is a gaudily-colored
small fish with remarkably developed
fins, the long dorsal, anal and caudal
growing to points and the rays of all
the fins extending beyond the connect-
ing tissue. During the nuptial season
it has a scintillating: brownish color

over the body and fins, the pectorals
usually marked with orange and yel-
low stripes and red mottlings ; while
the body is dotted with olive and has
reddish, bluish and greenish opalescent
bands. On the operculum or gill cover
there is a dark yellowish-red spot, and
the keen black eyes have red irides.
The smaller female is usually duller
and paler in color with brown stripes,
and has smaller or more rounded fins.

The Gourami somewhat resembles
the sunfish in form and size, but has
the snout turned upward with the lips
nearly vertical. The dorsal, pectoral
and caudal fins are like those of the
striped sunfish, but the anal fin is
longer and extends from below the
branchiosticals to the caudal fin. The
ventral fins are placed under about the
centre line of the head and each has
'he second ray extended to a very long
thread-like streamer, which like those
of other fishes are useful in exploring
cracks and crevices for food. The
colors of the male during the mating
season are a lustrous reddish-bronze
on the back and sides, overlayed with
bluish and greenish vertical bands of
bright metallic lustre; and the abdo-
men silver, marked with vague brown
and grey rings and dots. The fins are
steel-blue and grey, striped with yel-
low and white broken bands or spots ;
while the long thread of the ventral
fins is usually orange-yellow in color
and the pectoral fin marked with a
black spot. The black eyes have red
or yellow irides. The female is more
dull in color and does not display the
brilliant markings of the male fish.

The Chanchito may be compared
in outline with the Tautog or common
blackfish, and is a belligerent, active

142

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

little fish in the aquarium. In nuptial
garb the male is of lustrous green and
yellowish color striped with dark, us-
ually black, bands continued over the
dorsal and anal fins, some of which,
towards the tail, are marked with
bright black spots. The eyes also as-
sume a green lustre with gleaming red
reflections and have red and yellow
i rides. The females are less brightly colo-
red and have faintly marked stripes.

The life, nest-building habits and
propagation of the Indian Paradise fish
are described by Mr. Heilman, an ex-
pert breeder of these interesting aqua-
rium pets in a paper which will appear
in a future issue of The Guide to Na-
ture, Those of the Gourami and
Chanchito are not as generally known
and will be briefly mentioned :

For the Gourami, the temperature
of the water should be 75 ° to 8o° F.
An abundance of rooted and floating
aquatic plants should be provided for
nest-building material, of which the
fishes will form natural galleries and
build a nearly spiral-formed nest com-
posed of plants and mud, when the
latter is obtainable. Both the male
and female work on its construction,
but it is the duty of the male to guard
the young, with which he is active
until the}- acquire a length of one-half
to three-quarter inch. Then the
parents should be removed, as, though
their principal food is vegetable, they
become cannibals in the confines of
the aquarium.

The Chanchito forms its nest in the
sand by excavating a depression or a
furrow of considerable area with the
head, fins and tail ; sometimes more
than one nest is made. After the
spawn is deposited, the fishes take po-
sition over the nest to guard it and
to change the water by rapid move-
ments of the paired fins, habits similar
to those of the Sunfish. After the
young are hatched they are herded to-
gether and then led and guarded by
the parents move about the aquarium
until old enough to care for them-
selves, the older fishes en°ae'ine" in
battle with any other fish which may
intrude. Their aggressive habits pre-
vent the keeping of other fishes in
comfort in their containers, and when

possible, it is better to devote an aqua-
rium for their sole occupancy, remov-
ing the parents as soon as the young
are able to care for themselves and no
longer swim in schools.

These three species of labyrinthine
fishes are more interesting aquarium
inmates than the sluggish, pampered
and artificially developed toy varieties
of the goldfish.

The Double-Finned Japanese and
Chinese Goldfishes.

The tenacity of life of the carp and
its kindred forms led to their propa-
gation as ornamental and domesticated
fishes. The carp was first known as
coming from China and bore the name
of a sea fish. It was developed as a
freshwater fish "in the province of
Tche-Kiang, which extends as far as
the sea," and may have followed the
habit of other migrating fishes, com-
ing to fresh-water to spawn ; when it
was first confined to salt-water and
later to fresh-water ponds and streams.

The first described carp was a
slender, long-bodied fish, similar to the
scaled carp, Cyprinus carpio communis,
and from it other species were pro-
duced by selection. Among these are
the mirror carp, C. carpio specularis;
the leather carp, C. carpio coriaccus;
the golden carp, C. carpio aureus: and
from this latter the crusian carp, Car-
assius carrassiud, a short-bodied, flat-
sided fish, the undoubted ancestor of
the goldfish, Carassius auratus, now
divided into two varieties, the Euro-
pean and American common goldfish.

From a pond existence this fish was
next transferred to smaller containers
where its propagation could be better
controlled and then to the modern
aquarium. Under this close observa-
tion all the variations common to
animals under domestication were
noted and led to the production of
other breeds differing from the original
parent stock ; and it is this breeding
and careful selection which has pro-
duced the remarkable forms of gold-
fishes now known to us, all of Orien-
tal origin and development. None
other of the ichthyic fauna shows such
wide variations as the Chinese, Jap-

AQUARIUM.

143

rieties of the goldfish. Every con-
anese, Corean and Sumatran toy va-
ceivable variation in body, head, snout,
mouth, eye, color and habit has been
developed as a result of the tireless
patience and perseverance character-
istic of the Oriental, as also changes
in the forms and the duplication of
fins.

Experiments with the lower forms
of animals have proven that disturb-
ances of the eggs, by shaking apart
the cells produced by the first cleav-
age of the ova, will cause the develop-

arity was preserved by careful breed-
ing and later became a more or less
fixed character of the breed, as may be
seen in the highly prized Chinese and
Japanese goldfishes now successfully
bred in the United States.

Careful examinations of the embrios
of these double-finned fishes reveal
that the duplicated fins are first laid
out as two longitudinal thicknesses or
folds, and as these are necessarily con-
fined to the anal and caudal fins, are
formed along the ventral sides of the
post-anal section of the body. At a

i fc 3 * 5 6 7 89 10

DIAGRAM OF THE VERTEBRA AND TAIL-RAYS OF GOLDFISHES

1. Single tail of the common goldfish.

2. Duplication of ventral edge of single tail.

3. Tripod tail: upper lobe single; lower lobe in duplicate.

4. Web tail : two separate tails joined only at the dorsal edge.

5. Dolphin tail: double tail joined at the dorsal edge and flattened to a horizontal
plane.

6. Fan tail : duplicate, vertical, single tails placed side by side.

7. Fringe tail: a very long, exactly similar, double tail.

8. Arrow tail: upper lobe in duplicate; lower lobe single.

9. Rudder tail: duplicate, horizontal, upper lobe; single, vertical, lower lobe.

10. Bag tail: double tail joined at both the dorsal and ventral edges.

ment of two embrios from the same
egg and the production of monstrosi-
ties ; some with two heads on a single
body, others with duplicated extremi-
tal parts, and still others without some
of these extremital parts and the du-
plication of others. By some simple
practice, such as violently shaking or
other disturbances of the eggs, the
Orientals developed double monsters,
which did not survive, and others with
their fins in duplicate, which peculi-

later period of development, they form
separate duplicate fins placed side by
side in their respective proper pos-
itions.

In the natural state, these mon-
strosities would not be likely to sur-
vive, though this does sometimes oc-
cur, for encumbered with auxilliary ex-
tremities they would be hampered in
their movements and would not so
readily obtain food or escape their
enemies as their normallv constituted

H +

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

brethren ; but under the care of the
breeder, they are preserved and trans-
mit to some of their progeny these
desired peculiarities.

How these tendencies are trans-
mitted to the ova has never been fully
determined, but in crustaceans, ba-
tracia, reptiles and fishes heredity is
stronger than in the higher forms of
animal life, especially so with fishes,
and the partly double bodies of the
parents influence the young and tend
to a preservation of these peculiarities.
These may, in a measure, be a benefit,
as the large and duplicated fins with
their great amount of surface will
serve as important adjuncts to gill res-
piration in the confines of the usually
badly aerated tanks and aquaria. This
is also indicated by the very red color
of the blood in the arteries and cap-
illaries of the long^tailed goldfishes.

Duplication of the anal fin consists
of two fins placed side by side. Then
they serve the same purpose as the
single fin in guiding the movements
of the fish. But with some breeds
having abnormally large and unwieldy
double tails, the duplicate anal fins
are placed at an angle to each other
and by their flapping motion largely
take the place of the tail in swimming,
as its muscles are atrophied and the
long double tail becomes an actual
hindrance to the fish, which swims by
movements of the body muscles and
not bv those of the tail.

The normally constituted tail of the
goldfish consists of a single, slightly
bifurcated, vertical blade at the ex-
tremity of the spine, articulated so
that it is flexible in all directions.
Abnormalities of the caudal fin vary
considerably and have been made
characteristic of different breeds. A
gradual transition from the single to
the double tail can be traced which
has also been further developed, as
the appended diagrams will show. The
simplest transition state from single to
double is seen when the tail, normal in
other resoects, has the ventral (lower)
edge slightly furrowed with a median
line or groove, the greater part of the
tail being vertical and median. This
indicates the first tendency to a double

■tail. When the division extends fur-
ther up, the lower half of the tail may
be double. This is known as a "tri-
pod-tail" and is not desirable to the
expert fancier. Sometimes the du-
plication extends quite to the upper
margin and is joined only at the dorsal
(upper) edge, which produces two
complete blades joined at the first rays
on a line with the back of the fish.
This form is known as the "web-tail."
These halves may be flattened into a
horizontal plane and then the double
tail is represented as a single piece
and is known as the "dolphin-tail," the
desired form in the Celestial telescope
goldfish.

Another form is when the tail is
normal in outline but in place of a
single tail it is present in duplicate ;
that is, two single tails separated quite
to the base, directly vertical on the
same plan, of exactly the same shape
and conformation and parallel to each
other. This is the true "fan-tail" and is
characteristic of that breed of gold-
fish.

A further development is the "fringe-
tail," an immense, drooping, double
tail, divided to the base and floating
behind the fish like a great mass of
dainty lace, much longer than the body
of the fish, of which each half is exactly
like the other in conformation, length,
droop and texture. This very long
growth of tail is only acquired after
the maturity of the fish, though the
expert can detect the tendency in very
young fishes.

All these forms of duplicate fins are
oresent in the breeds now cultivated
in the United States ; but Doctor S.
Matsubara, Director of the Imperial
Fisheries Institute at Tokio, mentions
three other forms: the "arrow-tail" in
which the upper half of the tail is in
duplicate and the lower half single ; the
"rudder-tail" in which the double up-
per half is horizontally expanded and
the single lower half vertical ; and the
"bag-tail" which consists of a double
tail joined at both the dorsal and ver-
tical edges.

Some of the young of American bred
fishes show indications of a triple de-
velopment of tail but none have as

AQUARIUM.

i45

yet survived much beyond the size of
fry. In these cases the upper lobes of
the tail are in duplicate and an extra
fold is noticed in the lower lobes mak-
ing them triplicate. The diagram
would be a combination of the Fig. 5
and 8. None have been sufficiently
perfect in development to have all the
lobes separated to the base of the tail,
but selection of those fishes which ex-
hibit these tendencies and their further
propagation would ultimately produce
triple-tailed goldfishes. Such a com-
plicated structure, however, would not
add to the beauty of the fishes and
would appear like a conglomerate
tangle of tails, to carry which would
be impossible and so weaken the fry
as to cause their deaths from ex-
haustion.

In some of the breeds the dorsal
(back) fin has been entirely eliminat-
ed and the scales are evenly imbricated
over the back and sides ; in others the
anal fins are absent, while with some
breeds there is no evidence of either
dorsal or anal fins. These fishes main-
tain their balance with the paired fins,
the pectorals and ventrals, and either
have long and very narrow double tails
or have the double tail expanded as
shown in Fig. 5 which also by its flap-
ping motion aids in swimming.

In conclusion it may be well to state
that only a very small proportion of
the voung exhibit the desired tail
forms in perfection, not over five per
cent, of those that survive to an age
of three or four months, and these
should be kept in large containers with
abundant plant life and sufficient food,
preferably the natural minute pond
life consisting of the crustaceans,
daphnia. cyclops, polyphemus and
cypris of which more will be stated
in a later paper.

Establishment of More Aquarium
Societies.

BY DR. HERMAN BURGIN, PRESIDENT OF
THE PHILADELPHIA AQUARIUM SOCIETY.

As far as is known to the writer
there are but two aquarium societies
in the eastern section of the United
States. One is located in Philadel-
phia, the other in Jersey City, New

Jersey. The writer has no knowledge
of the existence of any similar socie-
ties anywhere else in this great coun-
try. In contrast to this condition, al-
most all of the Continental European
cities have one or more. For instance,
Berlin and its suburbs support four —
the "Verband der Aquarien und Ter-
rarien Freunde," the 'Verein fuer
Aquarien Freunde," the "Nymphae
Alba," the "Triton" and "Elodea,"
whilst Hamburg has two — the "Sal-
vinia" and the "Humboldt."

Aquarium societies are decidedly
the best means for acquiring and dis-
seminating reliable information relative
to the Aquarium and its inhabitants,
and assist by the common interchange
of experiences in removing uncertain-
ties and the annoying difficulties that
constantly confront even the most ex-
pert fancier as well as the tyro.

In order to encourage lovers of the
aquarium to form such societies, it
would be a pleasure to the officers of
the Philadelphia Aquarium Society to
bring before those interested the pro-
cedure, Constitution, By-Laws and
such other practical points that have
led to the marked success of our, the
parent society.

The expense of maintenance is but
trifling. With an entrance fee of one
dollar and annual dues of one dollar
and twenty cents, paid monthly, this
society has had for the past ten years
an average membership of nearly two
hundred ; has met all its obligations,
acquired necessary paraphernalia and
has in addition a moderate invested
fund to meet extraordinary expenses.
The meetings for exhibitions of fishes,
plants and other pertinent matters are
held monthly, excepting June, July and
August. Formal subjects for discus-
sion are presented in advance of the
meetings ; but the "letter-box for in-
formation," which is open to everyone
interested, often brings out more dis-
cussions than the set subject for the
evening.

Blue, red and white ribbons repre-
senting first, second and third prizes,
and a consolation ribbon when no com-
petition exists, are awarded for the
finest exhibits.

Annually two diplomas of honor are

146

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

given ; one in January for the finest
fish owned by a member, and one in
February for the finest fish bred by a
member. A silver cup owned by the
Society is each year in the custody of
the member having the finest house-
hold aquarium ; to become his property
after three years winning the award :
Mr. Frederick Godshall, of Philadel-
phia, in November last, won the trophy
for the third time and thus retains its
possession, although others have held
it for a year at a time, each having his
name engraved thereon.

The Society was formed in 1898 and
has done much to popularize the aqua-
rium and the rearing of the finer breeds
of aquarium fishes. The result also of
the discussions at the meetings is the
production by one of our members of
a book that is recognized as the most
voluminous and complete work on the
subject of freshwater and marine
aquaria, the breeding and care of do-
mesticated fishes and all kindred sub-
jects. This work is profusely illus-
trated by the author himself, practi-
cally all the drawings having been
made from the exhibits at the meet-
ings.

The membership of the Society is
not confined to Philadelphia, a num-
ber of enthusiasts within a radius of
one hundred miles are active mem-
bers and frequent attendants at meet-
ings. The subject is a wide one and
admits of much original research and
observation. From small beginnings
the proceedings have advanced to sub-
jects of considerable importance often
involving protracted scientific studies,
and much of the work could be applied
to the propagation of food fishes, as
will be demonstrated from time to
time in the report of the proceedings
published in The Guide to Nature.

It is earnestly hoped that some of
the readers of this paper will take up
the subject and form similar societies.
All that the Philadelphia Society has
developed is freely offered as an in-
centive and guide to equally good
results. Every city in the United
Stales should have an Aquarium
Society; and all that is required
to found one is a little advertis-
ing in the daily papers; aqua-

rium fanciers will all be glad to join
an inexpensive movement that will re-
dound to the benefit of all. The Phila-
delphia Society started with a charter
membership of eighteen and increased
to one hundred and thirty-six during
the second season.

Notes on a Worm Infesting Fresh-
water Snails.

BY WILLIAM T. INNES, JR., SECRETARY
AQUARIUM SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA.

In closely scrutinizing some about
half-inch long Cape Fear river snails,
I noticed a scumlike covering on the
exposed parts, the head and neck.

Upon closer exami-
nation I found the
animals beset with
numerous t i n y
worms which appeared like minute
white lines attached by the head and
hinder parts, similar to leeches, and
apparently deriving nutrition from the
fluids of the animal which had not the
power to dislodge them.

Upon removing the snails to a glass
of water some of the worms became
detached and moved about like a geo-
metrical caterpillar or measuring
worm.

They proved to be Annelids of the
order Oligochreta, genus Chaetogaster,
species C. limnxi, and those I ob-
served were about 1-20 to 1-10 inch in
length, segmented and slightly flat-
tened, with a pronounced head and ad-
hering bristles on the under side of
the body, of chalky white color and
possessing considerable power of ex-
pansion and contraction.

C. linuixi was first described by von
Baer in 1827, as occurring in Europe,
but in 1901 was found infesting a
Physa and later a Planorbis snail by
\Y. A. Wilcox, of Boston. They are
described as occurring on molluscs
only at definite periods and are not
strictly parasitic but may be useful to
their hosts, as Lankaster found their
alimentary canal distended with small
entomostraca, rotifera and protozoa,
all likely to infest snails and other mol-
luscs.

Their reproduction is by budding,
and thev usually occur in numbers

MINERALOGY.

i47

upon one host, when the dead individ-
uals produce the scumlike appearance
noticed by me. The semi-parasitic
stage is usually during the winter
months.

This is the only species of the large
order that inclines to parasitism and
is the smallest in regard to size. None
of the species are harmful to fishes,
some being' terrestial, others fresh-

water and a very few marine in habit.
In one of my tanks a number of
wild snails, Physa heterostropha, had
made themselves uninvited inmates,
and I found that they were also in-
fested by this microscopic worm. I
later found that young goldfish fry ate
these worms greedily. This is the first
reported instance of their occurrence in
the vicinity of Philadelphia.

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MINERALOGY

Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

A Cuban Cave.

Caves have a fascination not only
for mineralogists and nature students
but for almost everybody.

The picture of Alorro Castle is in-

teresting not only for its historical in-
terest but because it shows at its base
a cave being worn out of the coral reefs
which form its foundation.

The second picture, although it rep-

MORRO CASTLE, SANTIAGO DE CUBA, SHOWING SEA CAVE NOW FORMING

UNDERNEATH
Photograph by Capt. Jos. Priest.

148

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

resents the interior of a cavern more
than a half mile inland, was really first
formed by the ocean, before this part
of the country was uplifted. This
whole section of country seems to be
coral reefs and limestone formation,
so that as the water gradually found

renowned Ruins of Mitla (south of
Oaxaca, Mexico) constructs its abode,
about one yard wide and in the center
about six inches high, perfectly cir-
cular hills. I neglected to bring a few
specimens of the interesting architects
along.

u^ ■ n

) ^m\

t jk\

'»

■

* "m

n Jill

|B i |ut

mmL't ' ■• ■ '9

H$f*H

H^#,

IP^***

p ^

:«

IbV

INTERIOR OF CUEVAS DE CARIBISS, PROVINCE OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA

Flash light photograph by Capt. Jos. Priest.

its way through the interstices in the
rock, it carried a plentiful supply of
bicarbonate of calcium which formed
the stalactites and stalagmites which
adorn this cavern, a fine example of
which can be seen at The American
Museum of Natural History.

The Ant as a Mineral Collector.

BY CARL G. KLEIXSTUCK, KALAMAZOO,
MICHIGAN.

I enclose herewith a small sample
of the building material with which a
comparatively small but rather big-
headed ant I found in the heart of the

The whole glittering hill is formed of
myriads of those quartz crystals, mar-
velously uniform, and the most
wonderful fact of the whole thing is,
that far and near the most scrutinizing
observer is utterly unable to detect the
remotest sign of quartz neither above
nor directly underground. My guide,
wondering at my search and finally
asking for an explanation, laughingly
pointed to a row of hills four or five
miles distant and told me that each one
of the shining pebbles was carried by
one "ormida" from those mountains to
the hill in the ruins. Interesting isn't
it?

MINERALOGY.

149

Barite and Aragonite. The Cullinan.

These are two minerals which are TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN by ai<-
almost always attractive and when BERT H. PETEREiT, NEW YORK city.

they occur in combination, as shown This largest one of all diamonds

in the accompanying- illustration, they found up to date weighs 3,025% car-
ets— 32.674 ounces. Its length
is 4.409 inches ; its height, 2.52
inches ; its width, 2.01 inches. It
shows eight surfaces, four of
which have been produced by
cleaving while the other ones
show the original crystallization.
Considering that the "Excel-
sior," found in 1893, which was
the largest diamond before the
Cullinan was found had a weight
of only 971% carats one might
imagine the exorbitant dimen-
sions of this wonder of nature.

The Cullinan received its name
from Mr. T. M. Cullinan, the
president of the Premier Dia-
mond Mining Company, Ltd., in
whose mines, about twenty
miles northwest from Pretoria,
the stone was found on Janu-
ary 26th, 1905.

Captain Wells discovered
something sparkling at one of
the stone walls. He went close
to the spot and recognized
an unusually large diamond. He
was not able to loosen the stone at
once, same being still held by its ma-
trix. After some hours of hard work
he at last succeeded in securing his
treasure.

At the Premier Mine from Septem-
ber, 1903, to June 1905, twenty-two
diamonds of more than one hundred
carats were found ; viz., four of more
than three hundred carats, two of two
hundred to three hundred carats and
sixteen of one hundred to two hundred
carats.

In 1907 the South African Govern-
ment purchased this diamond for
Li 50,000 and presented it to King Ed-
ward of England.

Upon the advice of the London Dia-
mond Concern, Levy Nephew, the king
decided to entrust the well known jew-
eller, J. T. Asscher of Amsterdam, with
the cutting of this stone in his model
factory.

BARITE AND ARAGONITE,
LAND, ENGLAND

CUMBER

are very beautiful. The barite in this
specimen shows a triangular form of
nearly opaque, milky color, with the
aragonite deposited on it in bright,
transparent, glassy, needlelike crystals
standing out in all directions.

Barite is a sulphate of Baryta and
occurs generally in tabular form and
is sometimes tinged yellowr, red, green,
blue and brown. Aragonite is a car-
bonate of lime and derives its name
from Aragon in Spain where it is
found in contact twins. Its occurrence
is very wide, covering almost the en-
tire globe, and it also crystallizes in
various and sometimes grotesque
forms.

Accept my sincere congratulations
on the establishment of Arcadia; it
sounds good and some day I will call
and see how good it is. — Richard C.
McGregor, Assistant, Bureau of Sci-
ences, Manila, P. I.

ISO

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The Cullinan was cleaved on Feb-
ruary ioth, 1908, by the eldest partner
of this firm, Mr. Jos. Asscher, and
ground by Air. Henry Koe, an eminent
expert in this kind of workmanship.
It will be of interest to know what Dr.
G. A. Molengraaff, now professor at
the Technical High School in Delft
(Holland), to whom the diamond was
sent by the direction of the Premier
Mine, says about this magnificent
stone :

ice or that of hyalite. The diamond
shows some inclusions and also some
feathers or inside cleaving surfaces.
However, they are so situated that the
value of the diamond is not lessened by
same. No doubt it is the clearest of
all known giant diamonds.

"The question has been raised
whether it will be possible to find the
other pieces that have been blown off
by cleaving. Of course there is a pos-
sibility of finding them but no one

THE CULL1XAX

"Although the diamond is a giant
gem, it evidently seems to be only a
part of a much larger stone, the form of
which can be only guessed. Four pieces
of this main stone have been blown off
along the cleaving surfaces that, as we
are aware, show the position of oc-
tahedrons. Each of those pieces must
have had an enormous circumference
Therefore, the stone, lately found,
shows only a part of its former sur-
face.

'The stone is a single crystal with-
out twin surfaces or twin lamels. It
is fully clear. Its perfect lucidity is
best to be compared with that of clean

would be able to say whether or where
they will be found.

"Diamonds originate in very great
depths from carbon material which has
been dissolved in melted basic pluton-
ic minerals. Out of these minerals,
crystallized by enormous pressure and
powerful temperature prevailing in
those depths of the inner earth, the car-
bon material turns into pure diamonds.
During the time of volcanic eruptions
the diamonds were thrown out bv enor-
mous power to the surface, and by the
strong friction which must have ex-
isted when the minerals passed
through the crater pit the pieces were

MINERALOGY.

151

severed from the main stone. It may
be that, in the course of an eruption,
the diamonds have been thrown out. But
they might just as well still rest in the
vulcan pit and the chances are that
this successful and famous mining
company will succeed in locating
them." "

Sir William Crookes, the famous
English scientist, who wrote an article
about the origin of diamonds, is also
of the opinion that the Cullinan is only
the smaller part of an octahedron split
by crystal cleaving. He predicts that
the Premier Diamond Company may
succeed in locating also the larger part
of this oiant diamond.

The Arrangement of Specimens.

BY HOWARD R. GOODWIN, PHILADELPHIA,
PENNSYLVANIA.

After the article on the passing of
the drawer cabinet by Charles H. Pen-
nypacker, in the May number of The
Guide to Nature, it may not be amiss
to say a few wrords in reference to the
matter of effective grouping of speci-
mens. I have seen several collections
of minerals containing fine specimens
which lost much of their attractive-
ness on account of poor arrangement,
overcrowding, etc. A shelf filled with
quartz crystals will present a dazzling
appearance but much of the detail is
lost in the general white effect,
whereas crystals and groups of quartz
crystals scattered through the case will
brighten up the wdiole collection.

In arransino- a shelf of minerals the
best results are obtained by placing in
the center the largest and most showy
specimens and grouping the others
about it without crowding, placing the
smaller ones in the foreground.

In my cabinet is a shelf arranged as
follows : a large specimen of purple
fluorite for center, flanked on either

side by yellow calcite crystals ; in
front of the fluorite is a cluster of
transparent quartz crystals ; these
stand out in bold relief against the
background of deep purple. Smaller
specimens carefully placed as regards
color contrasts complete the group ;
calcites of pink, yellow or red tints
contrasting beautifully with green
fluorite, amazon stone, malachite, wil-
liamsite, prehnite and beryl. Sulphur
crystals side by side with brilliant
blue, quartz coated chrysocolla, while
a group of milk white quartz crystals
is relieved by a cluster of jet black
smoky quartz.

It is not necessary to have all crys-
tallized specimens, as many massive
minerals are very rich in color, and
many ores are bright and showy, the
iridescence of turgite, chalcopyrite
and bornite ; the glittering iron pyrite,
galena and hematite all help to pro-
duce a pleasing effect. All this is not
scientific, but it has been my experi-
ence that most collectors are lovers of
the beautiful in nature and seek to pre-
serve such specimens as they may be
able to secure, not so much for the
purpose of deep study as a means of
recreation and decoration of the home.

A small cabinet of well chosen speci-
mens judiciously arranged will give
pleasure to any one with ordinary in-
telligence, while to any one of an ar-
tistic temperament it is a never ending
source of enjoyment.

I enclose check for renewal sub-
scription to The Guide to Nature. I
could not be without it. — Professor
George Park Singer.

I must say The Guide to Nature
is making good as the best all around
nature magazine that I have ever seen
— past or present. — Chas. D. Pendell.

152

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

It Pays to Fight.

Many of our readers have expressed
surprise at the statement that more
than one-third of a million dollars has
come to The Audubon Societies in
four years. Without a doubt a very
important factor in bringing in that
money has been the effective and radi-
cal and most commendable legislative
measures in preventing bird destruc-
tion. The merits of The Audubon So-
cieties are self-evident, and their leg-
islative work and their prosecutions
have been skillfully conducted and
made known. It is interesting and
indeed almost humorous to see how
such radical measures appeal to the
public.

This phase is even more noticeable
in The Humane Societies. Suppose
their efforts had been confined to
teaching people old and young to care
lovingly and faithfully for pets and
domesticated animals of labor. How
much money would have fallen into
their coffers do you suppose? But
bring the man into court. Pound him
as he pounded his horse and as unfeel-
ingly, and the hat then passed is filled
to overflowing. "Lick him and we'll
back you up," has many constructions.

* :jc * * :|:

Seriously, my friends, do you not
think The Agassiz Association should
abandon its policy of thirty-four years'
standing, of peace on earth, good will
to men, of kindness to men and wo-
men, boys and girls, birds and horses,

and engage a few lawyers, thrash a
few people, make laws that rare
flowers must be plucked, that grace-
ful snakes must be stoned, that fines
will be imposed on those who manifest
an artistic sense, that thirty days will
follow omission to study the frog
pond? Then, Oh then, we shall not
worry about money to pay the printer
and the engraver.

Yes, I am coming more and more
not only to admire commendable fight-
ing, but it is dawning on me, my
friends, that it pays!

Aquatic Nature: An Undeveloped
Field.

There is no more important, timely
or suggestive article in this number of
The Guide to Nature than that en-
titled the "Establishment of More
Aquarium Societies" by Dr. Herman
Burgin, President of the Philadelphia
Aquarium Society. We commend the
article to the careful reading of every
nature lover and especially to every
member of The Agassiz Association.

Think for a moment. Do wre not
all agree that there is nothing more
interesting or more easily available
for home or school nature study than
an aquarium? And there is nothing
more ornamental nor cleaner nor that
demands less care. Then why are
there so few? Why only two aqua-
rium societies in the whole United
States?

The New York Aquarium is liber-

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL.

153

ally patronized, a fact that shows an
intense interest on the part of the pub-
lic. We have had for years innumer-
able societies for the observation of
birds, plants insects, minerals — of
everything but aquaria. Let us form
AA Chapters largely devoted to aqua-
ria. It is an undeveloped and inter-
esting field. It is true that an occa-
sional aquarium is to be seen in school
or home. But are not most of them
neglected or ill kept or far short of
their possibilities through ignorance
as to what may be done? Let us de-
velop that field.

MICRO-AQUARIA.

Then, too, think of the possibilities
of aquaria devoted to microscopic life.
A glass cup or a shallow, wide-
mouthed jar containing water from the
nearest ditch or mill pond, and with a
spray or two of some aquatic plant
collected from the same source, will
supply an abundance of microscopic
life of many kinds and become a pro-
lific hunting ground for the micros-
copist, although he may have only a
small instrument and low magnifying
power. Every drop from such an
aquarium will show him something
that he has never before seen and
which he could never see without such
a microscopical aquarium. Such a
vessel rapidly and easily prepared, and
kept covered by a piece of glass, will
remain in good condition for months.
It will demand only an occasional ad-
dition of a little water and a fresh
spray or two of the aquatic plant, all
of which costs nothing but is worth
much.

What's The Use?

Now be frank, you repeated askers
of that question, "What's the 'use' '
of this or that? You mean wherein
can you wear it or eat it or wherein
does it produce something you can
wear or eat. Isn't life more than stom-
ach or protection from the weather?
I can imagine a dog, horse or pig ask-
ing, "What's the use?" meaning only
can I eat it or will it give me protec-
tion from storm, shade in heat or
warmth in cold ; but it is difficult to
realize mentally, or shall I say spirit-
ually, a human being bringing every-

thing to the level of food or shelter.
Have we no spirit of esthetics, no
pleasure in abstract thought, no em-
ployment for faculties above those of
the mere animal that we must insist
and argue about the physical use of all,
things? True, let us admit it, a cavy
isn't the best animal to raise for meat;
a fantail isn't equal to a chicken ; list-
ening to the music of an oriole may
not "pay" as well as listening to a
stock "ticker;" but all these that you
regard as inferior become superior the
moment you look at the subject from
the human and not the animal point
of' view. If thought, love, apprecia-
tion of beauty and similar faculties are
the highest attributes of humanity,
then one who lives in that realm and
exercises those faculties on the songs
of birds, the beauty of star or flower,
insect or pet, may well ask of what use
are your utilitarian interests. A Great
Naturalist centuries ago pointed out
that it is possible to gain the whole
world and lose one's soul.

Removal of Cat's Kittens.

One of our most appreciative natur-
alist friends writes as follows :

"I am much pleased with the May
number of The Guide to Nature, but
I want to criticise the owner of the
cat which adopted the squirrels. A
cat should never be deprived of all her
kittens. If she is allowed to raise one
of them it will generally make a good
animal. My mother's rule was to al-
low the cat to make her own selection
of her favorite baby by removing the
kittens from the nest and allowing the
cat to pick out one and take it back
on the theory that the mother would
naturally pick her favorite baby first.
Occasionally, however, there may be
some choice on the part of the owner
as to the markings of the kittens in
which case it may be necessary to al-
low the mother only a limited choice."

I am delighted with The Guide to
Nature and am talking it up wher-
ever I get a chance. It should be in
every school, every library and every
reading room in the United States.
It is wholesome, instructive, clean and
handsome. — Geo. W. Geist.

154

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

An Effective Friend of Birds.

William Dutcher was born January
20th, 1846 at Piscataway, New Jersey ;
his father being- the Rev. Jacob Conk-
lin Dutcher of Tarrytown, New York,
and his mother Margaretta Ayres of
New Brunswick, New Jersey.

On his father's side, he is a direct
descendant of Capt. William Dutcher
of revolutionary fame and also of
Isaac Van Wart one of the captors of
the unfortunate Major Andre. On his
mother's side he is a direct descendant
of Edward Fuller, one of the May-
flower pilgrims.

Such education as was obtained 'by
Mr. Dutcher was in the common
schools of the country of his clay, but
unfortunate circumstances compelled
him to commence work for a liveli-
hood when he was about fourteen
years of age. Up to the age of
twenty, he successfully conducted a
small farm in the State of Massachu-
setts ; subsequently he came to New
York and engaged in the business of
life insurance, in which he has con-
tinued for over a period of forty years,
during all of which period he has
never represented but two companies.

Mr. Dutcher supplemented his
rather meager early education by read-
ing and association with educated peo-
ple ; both his reading and association
being largely natural history subjects.

He has always been deeply inter-
ested in the life history of birds and
especially in their protection from the
economic as well as the aesthetic
standpoint.

He was a member of the original A.
O. U. Committee for the protection of
birds which was established in 1884
and was always a member or chair-
man of the said A. O. U. Committee
until this work was turned over to the
Audubon Societies, and later to the
National Association, of which he has
been President since its organization
and incorporation. Pie devotes a very
large part of his time to this work
and has always done so without com-
pensation of any kind whatever, con-
sidering it a civic duty he is called
upon to perform, owing to his intimate
knowledge of birds and their relation
to humanity.

WILLIAM DUTCHER

Mr. Dutcher is a Fellow of the fol-
lowing societies :

American Ornithologists' Union,
New York Academy of Sciences,
New York Zoological Society,
The American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science,
The Royal Society for the Protection

of Birds, Great Britain,
and is also a member of the Linnaean
Society of New York, the American
Museum of Natural History, Zoologi-
cal Society and the Sons of the Ameri-
can Revolution, the Mayflower de-
scendants.

During his many years' residence in
New York City he always took an ac-
tive part in reform politics, being one
of the originators of good Government
clubs, and was also a member of the
Citizen's Union. He is independent
in politics.

CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION.

i55

fORRESPONDENCE
^ ^r^ and Inform/

Ineorm^jton^

A Word from California.

Chico, California.
To The Editor:

The Guide to Nature fills a unique
place in current literature. I hope you
will not try to make it any less 'child-
ish." I do not see how nature study
can ever be taught successfully in any
other way, and I fear that just here is
where so many teachers are making a
mistake. Of this I am convinced by
years of experience with the teaching
of the subject. Success to this most
excellent teacher of nature.
Very truly yours,

Riley O. Johnson.
Department of Biological Science,
State Normal School.

Remedy for Ivy Poisoning.

Cincinnati, O.
To The Editor:

Apropos to this being the period
of year when a great many seek sur-
cease from work and relief from the
torridity of cities, by flying to the
mountains, the rivers, the lakes and
the country, a word of suggestion and
advice may not be amiss. I have in
mind the dangers from "Poison Ivy."
People should be taught to recognize
it and thereby minimize the number
of cases of poisoning; but even this is
not an absolute safe-guard, especially
when one is busily engaged in pur-
suit of some interesting object of
Natural History-
Some persons can handle it with
perfect safety, even to the extent of
chewing the leaves ; while others are
affected by the slightest touch, and
for them an ounce of prevention is
worth far more than a pound of cure.
Strange as it may seem, so very few
people, even physicians do not know
the sovereign remedy for rhus toxi-
codendron ; it is Tincture of Grindelia.

When the poisoning has occurred and
the characteristic symptoms are
present, it is to be applied on gauze,
clothes, or cotton, which have been
saturated in a solution of I to 4 or
1 to 5. Before the poison has had a
chance to act, or where one has come
in contact with the poison ivy, it is
advisable to sponge the exposed
portions of the body with this dilut-
ed solution, care to be exercised not
to get any of it into the eyes as it
smarts rather savagely. I have never
known it to fail, even in cases where
a number of other remedies have been
tried unsuccessfullv. It is almost a
specific, or as nearly so as anything
we know of. I never take a trip into
the country or the woods, nor do I
take canoe trips, without a supply of
Tr. of Grindelia.

Yours very truly,

G. A. Hinnen.

Observations in Prospect Park.

234 Willoughby Avenue,
Brooklyn, New York.
To The Editor :

While watching the grey squirrels
this spring -I fell to wondering if their
store of nuts is exhausted before the
new crop ripens, and to wondering
further what in that case these beast-
ies, when far removed from the Dark
peanut supply, depend upon for food.
Not long after my question was partly
answered when I saw a grey squirrel
with his "arms" full of green grass
which he was industriously eating.
Later I saw another squirrel standing
by a clump of rather coarse grass, eat-
ing it from the plant. All the grass
of that kind near by looked as though
it had been cropped off in the same
way. After that I more than once
saw a squirrel busily eating the cat-
kins from a hornbeam tree.

156

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Singularly enough, as I closed the
above sentence, I caught sight of a
friend in grey fur eating the green
fruit from a mulberry tree. I then be-
thought me that cherries will soon be
ripe and later the various kinds of wild
cherries, and the cherry stones may
pass for nuts.

A little sheet of water in Prospect
Park, Brooklyn, is nearly surrounded
by shrubs and trees. On May 16th of

this year I heard a loud splash as
though a brick, perhaps, had fallen
into this little pond. By the time I
could get from behind a tree trunk
which obstructed my vision, a fish
hawk or American osprey was just
rising from the surface of the water
with a large goldfish in his talons. He
flew heavily away over the trees, his
brilliant prey gleaming in the sun-

shine.

Caroline M. Hartwell.

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION'

Personal Explanatory Note:— Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing; Chap-
ters are represented by this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years
of age) are referred to' my department ("Nature and Seienee") in the "St, Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen-
tury Company, New York City.— Edward F. Bigelow.

A Field Day.

REPORT OF CHAPTER 587, CONCORD, NEW
HAMPSHIRE.

A cloudy day in May, a ravine, only
a cow path on a steep hillside, bushes,
homes of the brown tails not yet dis-
possessed, past the yard of an un-
kempt farmhouse. As we walked on
shut in by the hills an almost uncanny
feeling stole over us. One called at-
tention to the purple glow of the sweet
fern that made the place beautiful ;
another showed us the fertile bud near
the tip, longer and unlike the others ;
only the crow for birds whose, "Caw,
caw," seemed a part of the lonely
place.

While the others scrambled up the
hill to see a bird, I zigzagged down
under some scraggy, stunted pines and
found what made the day a red letter
one to me (by first find), a group of
earthstar mushrooms. Its history is
interesting. It is first deep in earth
in a nest of thread-like mycelium.
The ball is covered with a double coat ;
the outer, thick and leathery, covers
the inner closely like a coat of mail,
but separate from it at maturity it
bursts from the thread-like mycelium,
breaks into separate lobes which lift
it from the ball from the ground, to

the air. There were several ; they
seemed to be arranged sociably in
groups.

Disseminating AA Interests.

FROM ANNUAL REPORT, FOR I908,, OF EL-
MER WALTER, CORRESPONDING MEMBER,
NO. 2002, PERU, INDIANA.

For more than a year I have been
maintaining a "Young Folks' ' ,de-
partment in a Missouri local newspaper.
It has been the aim to make natural
science the leading feature of this de-
partment and to make the readers ac-
quainted with the Agassiz Associa-
tion. In this connection I have sought
correspondence with the readers inter-
ested in nature study.

During the year 1908 I have fur-
nished the newspaper about twelve
columns of copy, and written or sent
AA literature to nine different per-
sons and with some of these have since
maintained a regular correspondence.
Four of the number have contributed
articles for our department and three
of these seem to be steadfast friends of
the idea and appreciative students of
nature. We seek to establish a "Home
Newspaper Legion" of young folks for
mutual improvement by correspond-
ence and especially to promote nature

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

i57

study. The idea is to get young folks
interested in the home newspaper by
maintaining a department in it for
them. In this way it is hoped the AA
may become known in places and
through avenues not now reached by
The Guide to Nature.

Insignificant as the country news-
paper may seem, it has its special field
and that field is not necessarily con-
fined to the town or county where it
is published. It is capable of reach-
ing to the antipodes. My first re-
sponse came from the far away Philip-
pines, and another was from the At-
lantic coast of New England. If there
are other corresponding members of
the AA who can offer helpful sugges-
tions in promoting this idea, I shall
be glad to hear from them.

As to my actual nature study dur-
ing 1908, it has been of a varied char-
acter. Besides keeping diary, I make
notes of little incidents observed in
the domain of nature. Some pertain
to new facts learned and some to com-
mon incidents observed, such as the ar-
rival or departure of the migratory
birds. Some of the most common birds
are loved because their songs, needing
no revision, are the same as they were
ages ago, and to hear them is to be
carried back in imagination to the
sunny days of youth. Of the rare va-
rieties of birds it is an event worth
while to observe the occasional pres-
ence of one. They also recall other
days when their forest homes were
not totally devastated and they were
more common neighbors with us.

Twenty-five years ago the red squir-
rel was almost unknown here ; but
there were a few gray squirrels and
the fox squirrel was common. Now
the latter two species are seldom seen,
while the red squirrels are common.
The red squirrel is enough rat-like in
its nature that it boldly comes to the
corn crib or orchard to search for
food and if too closely pressed by dogs
or other enemies, is very quick and
skillful in making its escape and does
not hesitate to go into hollow logs or
holes in the ground in order to elude
its pursuer. I witnessed an escape of
this kind. Treed on two low spread-

ing butternut trees near each other on
a hill-side, the red squirrel outwitted
the dog by rapidly running down the
trunk of one tree nearly to the dogr
then quickly back among the branches
to the other tree, repeating this ma-
neuver until the dog became confused
by having to run first to the foot of
one tree and then to the other. The
squirrel finally darted safely to the
ground and found refuge either in or
under some old rotten logs or in holes
made in the ground by chipmunks. I
saw a number of summer nests of the
red squirrel in the same thicket men-
tioned in former observations and in
the vicinity of the old oak tree illus-
trated in the December Guide to Na-
ture. I examined one of these nests
and found it to be made wholly of dry
grass. Much of the grass near the cen-
ter of the nest was cut or ground up
fine. The nest was about ten feet from
the ground on a group of bushy sap-
lings covered with grape vines.

In my walk to the woods, the dog
which accompanied me "treed" an
opossum in a hollow ash stump
near a paw paw thicket. The stump
was only a few feet high, sawed off
flat on top and contained an opening
at the center just large enough to ad-
mit the opossum, and widening out
below just right to make a comfortable
nest nicely lined with dry leaves. I
brought the pocket-mirror into use,
reflecting the sunlight in on the ani-
mal, which acknowledged the intru-
sion by the sparkle of its eyes, and
turning its pointed snout up toward
me, indulged in the usual threatening
" 'possum grin." It was near enough
that I could have touched it with my
hand, but I did not want to make
closer acquaintance with those sharp
teeth. The dog also could see the
opossum, but could not reach it with-
out my assistance ; so, after watching
the little forest denizen for a while,
we went away, leaving it in peaceful
possession. The next time I visited
that place the stump was empty, and
a few weeks later was destroyed by
forest fires.

Along a railroad, more than a half
mile from that place I saw where an
opossum had been killed by the cars,

158

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

near where it seemingly had been
dining" on the remains of a turkey that
had met its death under the wheels.
Whether these incidents pertain to one
or more individual animals, I can only
conjecture.

The latter incident calls attention
to the numerous tragedies among the
lower animals as a result of their get-
ting in the way of railroad trains. Dur-
ing the year I noted as other victims
a "rain-crow" (a bird I think to be of
the cuckoo family), a screech owl, and
a number of rabbits. One evening I
met a freight train. After it had
passed I resumed the right-of-way and
had walked only a few steps when, in
the dim twilight, I saw a rabbit floun-
dering against the wire fence along-
side the railroad. In its confusion I
succeeded in picking up the little ani-
mal. I expected to find it badly muti-
lated ; but only one hind foot had been
cut off by the cars. Goldfinches,
chickens, ducks, cats, muskrats, frogs,
turtles, etc., I have observed as the
victims in former casualties.

As another menace to bird life, tele-
phone and telegraph lines and wire
fences play a prominent part. I saw
a golden-winged woodpecker fly
against the wire poultry netting en-
closing a chicken-park. The bird was
stunned, but managed to fly into a
nearby basswood tree, where it sat
moping, with its beak open and its
tongue lolling out. After a while it
seemed to revive and, I hope, finally
recovered. My recollection is that on
a former occasion the body of a dove
was found that had been killed by fly-
ing against this same fence.

I saw an interesting example of pro-
tective mimicry in a caterpillar on a
raspberry bush. Clinging by its hind
feet, it stood out motionless at an
angle, for all the world like one of the
green twigs or branches. Its coloring
was greenish, mottled with spots, that
added to the resemblance and made it
more difficult to distinguish the crea-
ture from the parts of the host plant it
was mimicking-.

I was witness to a part of the pro-
cess of metamorphosis of an insect
from the pupa to the imago stage. If
was about 5 o'clock in the afternoon of
a warm day that I saw the insect sit-

ting on a nail partly driven into the
door-frame of a summer kitchen or
out-building. When first observed,
the developing wings were crumpled
up into little triangular projections on
the creature's body. I placed it on a
leaf and wras examining it with a mag-
nifying glass. There was one moult-
ing or sloughing off of the outer skin
while I watched it. In about an hour's
time the wings had developed and un-
folded almost enough for the insect to
fly. Not being well enough versed in
entomology, 1 am not positive as to
its identity, but think it was some sort
of "May-fly." It had prominent eyes
of a bronze metallic color; filament-
like antennae ; body greenish ; wings
thin, gauzy and finely veined.
METEOROLOGY.

I observed an aurora appearing as
an arch of light in the north at 10
o'clock p. m.

An aurora wras seen as a soft yellow-
ish-white light in the north, somewhat
as an arch across the horizon and with
occasional faint vertical streamers;
about 8 o'clock p. m.

I observed a sun halo. The condi-
tion of the weather was a temperature
somewhere above freezing, probably
at 380 or 400 Fahr. A cloudy haze
came over the sky from the southwest.
The halo consisted of an inner circle
whose radius was about the same as
the distance of the sun above the hori-
zon. About equally distant outside of
this was dimly visible the right arc
of a larger circle, extending from above
the sun to the horizon north of it. The
haze did not extend far enough south
to form the left arc of this outer circle.
The inner circle was intersected over-
head by an arc, forming a bright spot
or parhelion just above the sun. The
limbs of this arc extended only about
half way toward the outer circle. This
halo was not to say extremely bril-
liant, but the prismatic colors were
dimly perceptible. It differed from the
halo described in the April Guide to
Nature, in that there were only the
two circles, or parts of circles, and
the arc instead of being on the outer
circle was on the inner circle. A rain
set in at dusk, followed by clear, cold
and windy weather and a cold wave
the succeeding night.

THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE.

159

H The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League i

By George Klingle, Summit, New Jersey

Explanation;- The aim of this League are in many respects the same as The Agassiz Association. Therefore
it has been proposed that the adult interests be represented by "The Cuide to Nature" and that the League co-oper-
ate, orpossibly be affiliated, with The Agassiz Association. — E. F. B.

Ten addresses were given to the
various Chapters during- the month of
May.

H« % % s|c j)e S|!

Leaflets concerning wild flower pro-
tection were distributed in three
school chapters during May; leaflets
on bird protection, in one school chap-
ter and one home chapter.

% 5)5 3fc 5)5 5^ *

The L. H. Nature League Chapters
organized during the past month are :
The Bright Eyes Chapter, Madison,
New Jersey ; The Madison Library
Boys' Club Chapter ; The Morristown
School Chapter.

Trailing Arbutus.

Our member, Mrs. L. F. Brown, of
Morristown, N. J., in an interesting
wild flower census, gives trailing arbu-
tus as being found in Morristown ; we
have no other record of it in this vicin-
ity, and would be glad to hear from
others as to its existing elsewhere in,
this section.

The arbutus is a much abused form
of nature's riches. Where it yet lin-
gers the despoiling hands of the'
thoughtless are rapidly exterminating
it, as at Lakewood, N. J, where it has
given pleasure to so many who have
been content to enjoy its beauty with-
out curtailing it.

If the sale of arbutus, as well as
gentians, pipsissewa and other rapidly
disappearing forms of plant-life, wrere
met by the determination of flower-
lovers, to purchase no wild bloom
whatever of flower-venders or florists,
a prolific source of destruction would
soon cease to exist.

Personal Observation.

BY B. S. BOWDISH, SOUTH ORANGE, N. J.

A key note to nature study, and one
that the great naturalist and teacher,
Agassiz always showed his apprecia-

tion of, is personal observation, inde-
pendent investigation. The tasks that
this greatest of nature teachers set his
pupils were such as would best develop
the faculties of seeing and hearing for
themselves.

What we discover by our own orig-
inal investigation is more sure to be
retained in our memory and to do us
a greater amount of good than what
we obtain at second hand from the
studies of others.

I remember during the early stages
of my interest in insect life, an occa-
sion when I found several of the
larvae of the Common Eastern Swal-
lowtail Butterfly, Papilio aesterias,
feeding on carraway leaves. At that
time the mature insect was not known
to me by name, nor did I have the
slightest idea what sort of appearing
butterfly should be expected from the
larvae in hand, but I placed them in a
box with a mosquito bar over the top,
furnished them with their natural
food, and placed the box in a cool posi-
tion, while I awaited results. After
my captives assumed the pupa stage I
did not consider it necessary to keep
the mosquito bar over a hole about
half an inch in diameter in one side
of the box, as surely the butterflies
could not escape from this small aper-
ture. One morning when I inspected
the prison of my three quiet captives
I found I had two strange additions
to the population, in the shape of
slender, tawny reddish ichneuman flies
which eventually proved to be 7*rogus
epssorius Brnllc. Further investiga-
tion showed a neat round hole in the
side of each of two of my pupae, and
I promptly developed a suspicion as
to the character of the ichneuman flies
which subsequent recourse to the au-
thorities proved correct.

Later the remaining pupa split its
skin to allow an aesterias to escape.

i6o

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Identification was comparatively sim-
ple and the insight I had gained into
the life cycle of this beautiful and in-
teresting insect was attended with a
pleasure that no book information
could have given me. Moreover it
was impressed on my mind indelibly.
What I may have learned of insect
lore from the writings of others may
be soon forgotten, but that one bit of
insect life that was blended with a
brief chapter of my own life occupies
a bright and unfading corner in my
memory.

Yesterday.

BY ALFRED KINSEY, SOUTH ORANGE CHAP-
TER NO. 3.

As part of its spring program, the
L. H. Nature Lovers League had ar-
ranged with Dr. Kummel, the New
Jersey State Geologist, to take any
boys who were interested, out over the
country around Summit.

Saturday, May the 8th, found a
group of boys gathered in the build-
ing of the Y. M. C. A., Summit, listen-
ing to the plan for the trip.

First we were to cross the railroad
and notice the morains and trap-rock
quarries, just east of Summit.- We
were told the story of hundreds of
centuries ago. Yesterday, for so the
geologist counts thirty-five thousand
years, was the glacial period. Moving
like so much cold tar, a vast ice-sheet
spread, with a thickness of perhaps
two miles, over the larger part of nor-
thern North America The glaciers
course was marked with scratches on
the rocks ; even whole mountains were
scratched out of existence.

Then the effect of the warm south-
ern sun was felt, and quickly in com-
parison with its onward march, the
ice-sheet melted away, dropping its
burden of gravel, rocks, and boulders ;
so were formed new mountains, the
terminal morains.

We were told that the true morains
are distinguished as hills built of rock
and gravel deposits, between which
hills lie level plains of sand and finer
gravel.

Though Summit is built, for the
most part, on these morains, the for-
mation of the so-called First and Sec-
ond Mountains, must not be confused

with the glacial period. It can easily be
seen how hills formed of layers of trap-
rock, sandstone, and shale, have lost
their sandstone to some extent, by ac-
tion of winds and rains, leaving the
harder trap to form the mountains ;
the steep western slopes being due to
the slant of the layers of rock.

Toward noon we saw the glacial
deltas — delta-shaped bits of land built
by the streams of the melting ice, laid
out like the ribs of a fan — one of these
deltas seen by us, is in the form of a
very perfect alluvial fan — a hummock
built by modern winds and rains.

An enjoyable lunch, eaten out under
the open sky, over, we moved on —
true, now in rather a straggling fashion
— and spent the rest of our time in
learning about Lake Passaic. Acting
as a dam, which even now would work
wonders, if built across the Passaic at
Little Falls, the glacier turned the river
and built "Yesterday's" vast lake,
thirty miles long and fifteen miles
wide with an average depth of two
hundred feet ; a lake large enough to
flow over almost the entire State of
Rhode Island.

At the southern end of Long Hill,
we saw what Dr. Kummel calls one
of the best of geological landmarks ;
a vast mass of sand, rising about a
hundred feet, shaped like a bowl with
the front broken out. This is the spit
still standing as it was when the waves
of long past ages left it.

After viewing the quarries ; learn-
ing that rock containing iron looks
red as a result of the appearance of
rust ; that the thinness of soil on moun-
tain tops is due to the earth having
been washed off by rains ; indeed learn-
ing many other things, we turned
homeward ; a group of boys — yes,
most likely tired — who had learned
more of the subject considered, in that
one walk than a year of class-room
work had ever taught them.

Maybe not every one remembered
everything they were told, but the Na-
ture League, and Dr. Kummel were,
no doubt, repaid for their kindness by
the thought that every one of the boys
carried home with him something
worth remembering concerning that
one day's most interesting trip.

RECREATION * VOL II AUG., 1909 No. 5 4* EDUCATION

J L

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

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A DAINTY SPECIMEN FROM A ROCK-POOL
(Dasya elegans. Chenille weed)

" He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has
gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche
and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an
improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul ; who has never lacked appreciation of
Earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and
given the best he had ; whose memory is a benediction.

-A Woman <>/' Kansas in "Long

Island Agronomist.

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

AUGUST, 1909

No* 5

K^^

OUTDOOR WoRLD

A Rock = Pool by the Sea

BY MISS SARA ROOT ADAMS, EAST ORANGE, N. J.

g\ EL

irs~s

[AT could be more delight-

a clear morning

ful than

on the coast of Maine !
The sky is bright blue, with
a few fleecy clouds in the
vflte/ north; the sea darker blue,
S H and sparkling as with dia-
monds ; the islands and
points, green with fields and woods,
and white with huge seams of quartz
and feldspar, are brought into bold
relief against sea and sky.

But I must not linger to enjoy the
view this morning, for the tide is low,
and the waves, which, yesterday, were
breaking on the rocks with a loud roar,
today creep lazily up around points of
rock and over fields of sea-weed. This
is a propitious time for a natural his-
tory expedition, and accordingly, I set
out, in an appropriate and unfashion-
able costume, which includes broad
hat, rubber boots, and stout walking
stick.

My way lies across the rocky pas-

tures, to the cliffs. These are formed
principally of a micaceous rock, which
lies in strata slanting 20° or 300 from
the perpendicular, and is shot through,
here and there, at various angles, with
dikes of quartz, trap and other rocks.
Climbing down some thirty feet, by
the aid of my staff, over the irregu-
lar steps formed by these rocks, I find
myself almost on a level with the sea.
The rocks now at my feet are of the
same kind as the cliffs, but these are
worn by the waves. Passing over
these, I come to rocks which the tide
has so lately left that they are still
wet, and the shining, brown sea-weed
growing upon them is so slippery as to
require slow and careful stepping, and
nice balancing on their tops, to keep
one from slipping into the deep pools
left by the tide between them. To-
day, however, my rubber boots make
me quite independent of such careful-
ness, and I step boldly through the
smaller pools, securing a firmer foot-

1 64

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Tilt WAXES WHICH YESTERDAY WERE BREAKING"

ing. Before me rises still another ledge
of rock, of much the same character
as the higher ledges. Standing on its
lowest step, I find that, notwithstand-
ing its insignificant appearance when
seen from the top of the cliff", it rises
three or four feet above my head. The
other side of this ledge slopes directly
to the sea, and all its hollows are filled

with mussels, and its ridges crowned
with barnacles.

But the deep pool at the foot of this
ledge, on its landward side, is my es-
pecial place of observation to-day. It
is the largest of these pools, being
about thirty feet long, five or six feet
wide, and perhaps five feet deep in the
middle. Kneeling on the sea weed,

A STUDY IN THE WAVES ROLLING IN TOWARDS THE ROCK-POOLS

A ROCK-POOL BY THE SEA

i6<

|W»milBpir"-n>mc;iy"— '■*■■» '

-wmm

(■MW

AN INTERESTING STUDY IN OVERLAPPING AND FALLING OF WAVES

with the protecting ledge behind me,
I prepare to investigate with eyes and
hands, the marvellous collection of
treasures before me.

The rocky sides of this pool are in
themselves interesting enough to em-
ploy many a day, and the study would
include the three great kingdoms, as
the brilliant colors of the rock are due
partly to the minute animals and plants
upon its surface.

The pool is lined with sea-plants of
many varieties, which would prove an
interesting study in their manner of

growth and reproduction. Even the
coarse, brown bladder-wrack, or rock-
weed, which grows on the top of the
rock, has a most curious history. Here,
also, is the Irish or Iceland moss, beau-
tiful enough, in its brilliant shades of
purple, brown and green, with here
and there a strange electric blue tint,
to ornament a parlor table. The wav-
ing brown ribbons of the laminaria, the
bright green ulva, and many other
plants, help to decorate this garden of
the sea.

As I turn mv attention from the

A COMPANY OF CI. AM DIGGERS AT THE POOLS OX THE BEACH

1 66

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A NATURE CLASS STUDYING THE POOLS AND ROCKY BEACH

plants to the animals, I notice with re-
newed interest, the resemblance of sea-
animals to land-plants, and am re-
minded of the curious fact that the
spores of some sea-plants have the
power of independent motion. The
creatures that first meet my eye are
the sponges — red, yellow and green —
which show so little sign of animal life
that a microscope is needed for a care-
ful study of them.

Much higher in the scale of life are
the sea-anemones, whose family name
is actinia. These are among the most
beautiful of sea-animals, though in this

cold water they have not such brilliant
colors as in a warmer latitude. Here
they show all shades and tints of
brown, with now and then a salmon
pink, and occasionally a bright orange.
The largest specimen that I ever found
measured, with tentacles spread, four
or five inches in diameter. How like
a little flower-garden is a cluster of
these small ones, with their delicate
pink and fawn-colored tentacles mov-
ing to and fro in the clear water !

Their power of mending themselves
when injured is wonderful. I have
read of one which was cut trans-

"THE SEA-ANEMONES

ARE AMONG THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF SEA- ANIMALS"

A ROCK-POOL BY THE SEA

167

A CLUMP OF SPONGE FROM THE NEW ENGLAND (LONG ISLAND) COAST

versely, and another, vertically, and
each case resulted in the formation of
two perfect anemones. It is also re-
corded that, if one be torn roughly
from the surface to which it clings,
each piece remaining attached will,
in time become an anemone. I
have never tried any of these experi-

ments with
dentally illu
durance. I
pieces of cl
into the jar
rium, when
hand, and pi
an anemone

anemones, but once acci-
strated their power of en-
was feeding them with
am dropped from a fork
which served as an aqua-
the fork slipped from my
erced, from mouth to base,
in the bottom of the jar.

THE BYSSUS OF MUSSELS FASTEN THEM AND THE PEBBLES TOGETHER

i68

THE GUIDE TO NATURE,

A DAINTY FINGER SPONGE FOUND IN A
ROCK-POOL

Though I immediately took out the
fork, I had heard the points clink on
the glass; and as the injured creature
quickly drew in its tentacles and trans-
formed itself into a leathery lump, I
felt that it could never survive the
blow. But, after a few minutes, I saw,
to my astonishment, the tentacles
slowly reappearing, and soon the anem-
one was as fully blossomed as before
the accident. I dropped a piece of
clam into the water just over the
creature's mouth, and the tentacles,
slowly waving to and fro. made a cur-
rent which drew the food into the
mouth. This is its usual mode of eat-
ing, and in this case, seemed to be per-
formed with as much ease as if nothing
had disturbed its quiet life.

The food of this animal consists of
various creatures of the sea, in some
cases larger than itself. Worms, crabs,
young fish — these are among its favor-
ites, all hard and shelly parts being dis-
posed of by turning its stomach inside
out !

Tne anemone has the power of
thrusting out from various parts of its
body, tiny white filaments, with which
it kills its victim before swallowing
it. A naturalist writes that he has seen
young mackerel die from coming in
contact with an anemone.

The larvae of these animals are
formed in the tentacles ; from these
they pass into the stomach, and are
ejected from the mouth with the refuse
of the food. An anemone in the Zoo-
logical Gardens of Paris, having taken
a large quantity of food, ejected a por-
tion of it, and in this mass were found
thirty-eight young anemones. In some
cases the young grow on the outside
of the parent, like buds on a plant ;
after a time they detach themselves,
and become separate individuals.

The tide is now fast approaching the
pool, and I must hurry to make my
call on the other inhabitants.

The most noticeable are the star-fish
and sea-urchins, or more scientifically,
the asterias and echinus. The former
are the more brilliant in color, being

THE CURIOUS TWISTINGS OF THE SERPULA
ON AN OYSTER SHELL

A ROCK-POOL BY TTTE SEA

169

of various shades and tints of red,
orange, purple and brown. What
rough, horny backs they have, and yet
they can bend their rays into so many
different positions, and the delicate
white tentacles on the under side wave,
as the rays are lifted, almost as grace-
fully as those of the anemone.

I once saw one swallow a small
snail, shell and all. The star-fish was
clinging to the side of the glass jar
which was its temporary home, and
had spread itself over the small, nearly
round shell of the littorina, which

of its tentacles. In this way it can
eat even mussels and oysters, covering
its victim with a poisonous fluid, thus
causing the shell to open, when the
star-fish quickly devours the contents.
I have seen one during this process, the
thin membrane which forms the stom-
ach appearing like a large white bubble.
Oystermen consider the star-fish an
enemy, it makes such havoc in the
oyster-beds.

The sea-urchins or sea-chestnuts are
not beautiful creatures. They look
much like chestnut burrs, but are

A GEM IX SEA ALGAE FROM A ROCK-POOL

(Callithamnion corybosum)
One hundred and fifty varieties

looked much larger than the star-fish's
mouth. When I left the room, the
poor littorina was gradually disappear-
ing, only a small part of the shell being
visible, and, on returning, I hunted
through the jar in vain for the bright
yellow shell. But the star-fish became
the liveliest of its kind in the aquarium,
and never showed any sign of indiges-
tion.

The • asterias inverts its stomach
upon whatever of its prey is too large
to be drawn into its mouth by means

darker in color ; and the burrs in the
woods do not have the power to send
out long tentacles from their spines,
and work themselves slowly around,
using the little suckers at the end of
these tentacles as feet. The digestive
system of the sea-urchin is remarkable.
Its skeleton consists of no less than
thirty pieces. The teeth, which form
part of this wonderfully jointed skele-
ton, are five in number, long, sharp,
curved, and very hard. They can cut
the hardest substances, and would soon

170

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

FEEDING THE GULLS ON THE BEACH

be worn out, did they not grow from
the base as they are worn at the point,
like those of rodents.

I have read, in a work translated
from the French by an English natural-
ist, that the sea-urchins hollow out
holes for themselves in the hardest
rocks. I am curious to know whether
on any part of our coast they do this.
Those described in the work mentioned
above seem to be similar to ours in
other respects. As I pass my hand
along the steep side of the pool before
me, I perceive that these urchins are
not in hollows, as, when they make
their presence known by their sharp
spines, I can detach them from the
surface of the rock.

As I kneel on the seaweed, watch-
ing these singular creatures, a little
cascade suddenly appears at one end of
the pool. The tide has been creeping
up slowly but surely, and in one place
has crept over the edge of the pool,
bringing a new impulse of life into this
busy little world. I am warned in
time, and cannot even stop to watch
the many varieties of snails crawling
over the seaweed, but must scramble

up the rocks to a safe place ; for this
low-lying mass of seaweed will soon
be covered by the tide, and in a few
hours the outlying ledge of rock will
be all that marks the spot where live
and grow these wonderful creatures of
the sea.

I find The Guide to Nature particu-
larly good of its kind and am pleased
to know that nature study is increasing
in popularity so fast, as is evident by
the success of your journal and an in-
creasing supply of literature along pop-
ular lines. All possible stimulus along
such lines is most praiseworthy and
desirable. Keep up the good work.
Enthusiasts of your leading genial type
are rare indeed, but "get there," and I
wish you continued successes. — E. H.
Eames, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Guide to Nature for last month
is the right sort, and contains a whole
lot of healthy and interesting material
to bring before young naturalists in

any part of
Shufeldt.

the world. — Dr. R. W.

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

171

R5DUlSMl.?\5n^N6MY

The Heavens for August.

BY PROF. S. ALFRED MITCHELL, OF COLUM-
BIA UNIVERSITY.

Though very little is heard from the
daily press regarding the proposed sig-
nals to Mars, the astronomical inter-
est in this planet is continually increas-
ing, due to the better and better posi-
tion each night of the planet in the sky.
On August 1st the bright reddish star
on the horizon about 9:30 P.M. is Mars.
On August 15th it rises at nine o'clock,
on the 22nd about 8:30, and at the end
of the month shortly before eight.
During the month the planet will de-
crease its distance from the earth enor-
mously, and consequently its bright-
ness will be much augmented. At the
beginning of the month, it will be
forty-nine millions of miles away, at
the middle of August this distance will
be decreased by six million miles and
at the end of the month this will be
still further decreased to about 38^
millions of miles. The least distance
will take place on September 18, when
Mars will be about two-fifths as far
away as our sun is, or about 3654 mil-
lions of miles. By referring to the
diagram on the Map for July, the
reader may readily satisfy himself con-
cerning these facts by remember-
ing that the distance from earth
to sun on the diagram is 92,000,000
miles on the first of the month.
Mars has a diameter extending 9.5",
it is still gibbous in appearance. By
the middle of the month the diameter
has increased to 11", and by the end of
the month to 12". The increase in di-
ameter brings with it a corresponding
increase in brightness, of course caused
by the lessening- distance from the
earth.

Observations on Mars do not re-
quire the largest telescope in the world
for very excellent work may be done
by glasses of moderate size. Map

making of Mars began about 1840 by
Beer and Maedler. The improvement
in refracting telescopes about this time,
mainly through the work of Fraun-
hofer in Germany, rendered better
drawings possible through increase of
optical power. By 1867, the appear-
ance of Mars was well known from the
measures of the "eagle-eyed Dawes,"
of England, and a map by Richard A.
Proctor tells us of the configuration of
the planet. Forty years ago, it was
thought that the dark portions on
Mars were water, great oceans and
seas covering about three-eighths of
the planet, and that the lighter colored
areas were dry land. The white
patches around the north and south
poles were evidently polar ice caps.
This reasoning by analogy from what
is seen on the earth, it was agreed that
Mars was a miniature earth, and that
its ruddy appearance was due to an
abundant supply of water vapor in its
atmosphere. There seemed to be no
reason then why Mars should not be
inhabited by people very much resem-
bling those on our own planet.

The remarkable discoveries of Schia-
parelli in 1877 lent a new interest to
the planet. In the transparent skies
of Italy, this excellent astronomer saw
markings on Mars never before de-
tected by human eyes. Running from
the so-called seas into the continents
were thin, more or less straight mark-
ings, which resembled an estuary or
river. These he called by the Italian
name "Canali," or channels, and he
likened them in appearance to the Eng-
lish Channel. Schiaparelli saw a chan-
nel here and another there till there
seemed to be a network all over the
planet. These markings were caught
sight of by using a small telescope
but eight inches in diameter. Other
astronomers with much larger glasses
and recognized as being as keen-eyed

172

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

as this Italian could see none of them.
But what he saw in 1877 was nothing
compared with what the opposition
two years later, in 1879, brought, the
canals which earlier appeared as a
single line now were seen to be double,
two thin straight lines running for
thousands of miles parallel to each
other and with no variations. This
was really almost too much for the rest
of the astronomical world ! Schiapa-
relli, however, had a splendid reputa-
tion, he had done excellent work in

not till 1886 that there was a second
astronomer who could see them.

At the favorable opposition of 1892,
Mr. Percival Lowell, of Boston, be-
came interested in Mars, and obtain-
ing a large telescope of 24 inches in
diameter, he decided to locate it in the
most favorable spot for observation on
Mars. This, he determined, was not
around the "Hub," but away out in the
midst of the arid lands of Arizona, at
Flagstaff. Prof. Lowell and his as-
sistants there have now been working

Evening SkyMap for AUGUST

OUGH

1THE
E BIG DIPPER
NORTH 5TAR-
EEND OF THE
TLE DIPPER

SOUTH

other lines of research and his obser- on Mars for seventeen years, they
vations on Mars could not be lightly have gone at the investigations with

splendid scientific spirit, and the as-

turned aside. Of course the rest of
the astronomical world looked upon
the doubling of the canals with great
derision, for this looked plainly to be
a defect of eyesight. But no amount
of scorn could alter Schiaprelli's belief
in the canals, they were realities for
him, and for nine long years he had
these visions all to himself, for it was

tronomical world is greatly indebted
to the Lowell observatory for a great
mass of most excellent observations on
the planet, whether the rest of the as-
tronomers agree with him or not. Prof.
Lowell is convinced that Mars is in-
habited, and the "canali" of Schiapa-
relli are canals, artificial waterways

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

i73

dug by the inhabitants of Mars
for the purpose of irrigation. When
one reads Lowell's works, "Mars and
its Canals," and "Mars the Abode of
Life," he is ready to believe in the
thirty-nine articles of faith enumerated
by the author of the books ; there seems
to be no other possibility. Mars must
be inhabited. If the appearances on
Mars are in reality exactly as Lowell
describes them, it certainly is very
plausible that these are canals on Mars
made by engineering" skill. But these
canals are very difficult to see, in fact
the great majority of astronomers have
never seen anything at all like the
markings as described by Lowell.
Prof. Barnard, the recognized greatest
planetary observer of the present day,
has never seen anything at all like the
canals even with the 36-inch Lick tele-
scope or the 40-inch Yerkes. He has
seen a wealth of detail on the planet
which changes from time with the ad-
vance of the Martian seasons.

Mars undoubtedly seems to have
life on it, for there are changes going
on that can be explained only under
this supposition, it is entirely possible
that animal and human life are also to
be found there, but the consensus of
opinion at the present day seems to be
that nothing is proveru-regarding the
presence of human beings on Mars.
The astronomical world is looking for-
ward with the greatest eagerness to
the approaching opposition of Mars,
when visual observation and photo-
graphs will be made in great numbers
in an attempt to settle what is, from
the popular standpoint, the most im-
portant problem in astronomy.

THE PLANETS.

A splendid idea of planetary motion
can readily be learned if possessors of
star maps would plot down on them
from day to day the position of Mars.
On the first of the month it will be
found in the constellation of Pisces
about 30 from the visual equinox. It
moves easterly each day till the 23rd
of the month when it becomes station-
ary and then starts to retrograde or
move towards the west. The writer
would like to urge that the position of
Mars be plotted every few days on
the map.

Venus is becoming each night more
and more conspicuous, and getting
farther and farther east each night but
is not shown on the map, as it sets be-
fore the hours for which it is arranged
this month. Jupiter still continues to
be prominent in the evening sky, but
is slowly getting farther west each
evening. On August 12th, Venus and
Jupiter will be very close to each
other ; at closest approach Venus will
be but 12' north of Jupiter. They will
be closest together at 2 A. M. on Aug-
ust 12th, but should be watched for
several nights before and after this
date. A very pretty sight will be in
the western sky on August 17th, when
Jupiter, Venus and the thin crescent
moon will be very close together
the moon passing 40 to the south of the
planets. Mercury is not well placed
to be seen this month. At the middle
of August Saturn will be found in
Pisces and will rise about 10 P. M. On
August 15th Uranus is on the meridian
at 9:43 P. M. Neptune is now too
close to the sun to be well seen.

MISCELLANEOUS.

The first comet of the year was dis-
covered by Daniel, of Princeton, on the
morning of June 15th. Twenty-four
hours earlier at Marseilles, France,
Borrelly independently discovered the
same comet, though the news of the
discovery was not made public till
after it was announced by Daniel.
The comet should therefore be known
as the Borrelly-Daniel Comet, or
Comet 1909a. This was a small
and inconspicuous comet, and could
be seen only with a telescope. It
had passed its maximum brightness
when discovered. It will soon be pos-
sible to begin again the search for Hal-
ley's Comet, for during the past few
months it has been in the direction of
the sun.

THE HEAVENS.

The chart, as usual, represents the
appearance of the heavens at 9 P. M.
on the first of the month, 8 P. M. on
the 15th, and 7 P. M. on the 31st. The
bright star almost overhead is Vega,
the star towards which the sun and the
solar system are moving at the rate of
a million miles a day.

174

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

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MINERALOGY

Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

Minerals of Stamford, Connecticut.

BY WILLIAM C. BANKS, STAMFORD,
CONNECTICUT.

Search your home locality for min-
erals, even if it is not on the published
list. The specimens, more or less
good, are surely there. For instance ;
Stamford is not reported as yielding
any thing much but Yale locks, but I
have personally collected the follow-
ing minerals, in quite good specimens.
From Shippan : Hematite, ironstone
geodes, kaolinite, chlorite, and a drift
mass about five hundred pounds in
weight, of good green Vesuvianite, and
plenty of quartz sand and pebbles,
they are pretty anyhow. Simsb.ury
district : Almandite in coarse crystals,
some nearly two inches in diameter
associated with fibrous hornblende ; bi-
otite, crystallized. Near Talmadge
Hill, talc var, steatite, gray-green pot-
stone. On Henry Street, near the ca-
nal ; good epidote crystallized with
feldspar, but no terminated crystals.
This occurs in a quarry of quartz dio-
rite rock, a trap rock, at the contract
with the gneiss. In the same quarry
I found some fair tremolite, in crys-
tals through quartz ; iron pyrites, and
one small bit of molybdenite. In the
quarry on West Avenue quite good
microcline, in bluish white cleavages,
also iron pyrites. In the neighbor-
hood of Grove Street good incrusting
radiations of stilbite ; one seen when
I was a school boy, lingers in my mem-
ory as being upward of three inches
in diameter; it was unobtainable how-
ever. In the Cove district among the
drift material and along the shore I
have found red and green jasper, red
and blue quartz in fairly good speci-
mens ; good crystals of muscovite in

granite ; red almandite, small crystals
in granulite rock ; garnet and mag-
netite sands. In the gneiss rock, in
crevices, good pseudomorphs of limo-
nite often siderite in small but distinct
twins ; compact feldspar, a felsite rock.
Across the line in Darien, on the prop-
erty of George Gregory, good antho-
phyllite in drift masses. These are all
I believe, but they are enough to prove
that you needn't rely on a published
list of localities to show you where to
look for mineral specimens. Remem-
ber the darky proverb, "Look for coon
tracks, find coon tracks." So out with
your hammers and search.

Curious Crystals.

BY HOWARD R. GOODWIN, PHILADELPHIA,
PENNSYLVANIA.

In minerals, as in some other lines,
the odd things attract as much atten-
tion as the more perfectly formed and
beautiful specimens

In the quartz group, for instance, are
many eccentric forms, the capped
quartz which is illustrated in this num-
ber being one that is quite common in
some localities. This specimen is nine
inches high by five in diameter, and the
original crystal has been covered by a
deposit of minute crystals of dolomite ;
then, a fresh supply of silica having
materialized, crystal building was re-
sumed, a second crystal being formed
over the first but not entirely enclos-
ing it.

At some unknown period after this
took place, the exposed portions of the
dolomite were removed by decompo-
sition, revealing the outlines of the
original crystals ; the dolomite protec-
ted by the outer crystal, however, is
plainly visible (in the specimen)

MINERALOGY.

i75

through the transparent portions of the
"cap" as it is termed. From Jefferson
Countv. Montana, come crystals of

stout crystal. A specimen in my col-
lection has a smoky amethystine cap on
a stem of milky white quartz. A col-
lection of quartz crystals alone will
prove interesting and attractive if all
the different forms and colorings are
represented. Some of the minerals
which occur as inclusions in quartz are
clav, rutile, asbestos, chlorite, dolomite,

CAPPED QUARTZ

quartz (some of which are jet black in
color due to inclusions of tourmaline)
that have "caps" of beautiful amethyst.
These are gems indeed. In my collec-
tion are crystals that have been broken
by pressure or other natural causes
and "healed" by a fresh supply of sil-
ica or other mineral matter.

Curved and twisted crystals are by
no means rare, and crystals often have
cavities in the interior which contain a
liquid in which are bubbles of air or gas
which are seen to move as the crystal is
turned. This is quite common in the
beautiful limpid quartz crystals found
in various parts of Herkimer County,
New York.

Phantom crystals show a shadowy
outline or series of outlines within the
crystal, usually parallel to the planes
of" the crystal. A crystal from Gage,
New Mexico, in my collection shows
two chloritic phantoms at the termina-
tion and two amethystine phantoms in
the middle of the prism.

The "sceptre" or "rocket" quartz is
a slender prism capped by a short,

SCEI TRE QUARTZ

hematite, actinolite, tourmaline, mica,
hornblende and various metallic min-
erals.

176

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Special Visiting Day.

The Arcadia Nature Institution is
nearly ready to begin its work. The
"Sound Beach Idea" has been growing
into tangible form for its expression.

The special visiting and inspection
day will be Saturday, September 18,
9:00 a. m. to 6:00 p. m. You are cor-
dially invited to be present.

The outfit is yet far from complete,
but it is growing and is sufficiently
settled to enter more extensively upon
its real work. For several months the
preparations and adjustments have oc-
cupied chief attention.

Arcadia is to create and increase a
knowledge and love of nature among
boys and girls, men and women. Its
regular publications are "Nature and
Science" of "St. Nicholas" (New York-
City) for young folks and "The Guide
to Nature" for adults. Its motto for
all is, "Commonplace nature with un-
common interest."

Arcadia is a free Bureau of Informa-
tion on every phase of nature or nat-
ural science. Its only requirement if

a personal call by the inquirer or a
stamped and self-addressed envelope ;
it is to aid and be aided. It gladly wel-
comes co-operation and suggestions;
let us have both well manifested on or
before September 18th.
Come or write or send.

Novel Demonstration of the Need.

Arcadia consists of several buildings
(in addition to the experimental
grounds) in the center of the business
section of Sound Beach, next to the
post-office and a few rods from the
railroad station. The main office
building is within a few feet of the
sidewalk. The Arcadia buildings are
the first to be erected on the lot, and
owing to many delays have for sev-
eral months been in process of erec-
tion.

When I took possession of the busi-
ness office, an announcement of the
work of Arcadia and especially of its
Summer School was sent to every
house in Sound Beach. One lady who
has joined the school solicited her
friends also to become members.
Among those thus invited was a pro-
minent business man who goes to the
station by automobile every morning
and evening.

When he was thus solicited, the fol-
lowing conversation took place :

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL.

177

"What is Arcadia?" he inquired.

"Didn't you read the circular?" said
the lady.

"No ; never saw one."

"But then you have seen the build-
ings next to the post-office?"

"There are no buildings next to the
post-office ; always been a vacant lot."

"What!" she exclaimed. "You do
not mean to affirm that you have not
seen those buildings in the process of
erection for the last four months?"

"I tell you there are none."

The argument grew warm until the
man, embarrassed by the laughter of
the other members of the family, said
in self-defense that he steered his own
automobile and always had to give
close attention to his "machine" in
that crowded part of the street near
the station, Therefore, etc.

H« j!« ^ >!« sfc >N

Now I do not tell his story to laugh
at the man as did the members of his
family and others, but rather to express
sympathy and to excuse him. There
are millions of human beings in his
condition — going through life so intent
on ways and means, on strictly utili-
tarian "steering" (and they do not all
run automobiles) that they see nothing
of interest to the right nor to the left.
New stars might appear or the Great
Dipper or Scorpio vanish unnoticed.
Neglected flowers stretch forth in in-
vitation from every wayside and field,
insects buzz their attractions, birds
sing their welcome ; still the eyes are
fixed in but one direction. The own-
ers of such eyes have been seeing but
have never seen, living but never lived
in the broadest sense, been through
the world but never in it, been — but
what is the use in continuing! Every
observer knows all that I would say
if I should write columns more, knows
all that I realize of the needs of this
Arcadia in helping people to see on all
sides, to live a full life, to get into tune
with the Infinite, to reap a harvest of
beauty and instruction and inspira-
tion.

Yes, Arcadia is needed and we thank
that automobilist for so good a
demonstration of one phase of its need.

s|s ^c ;jc >f: ^ if:

Perhaps, in truest art, I should stop

just here, happy that the text was
given, content that my little sermon
has been preached, that the moral is
self-evident. But I cannot refrain from
shouting out again, you throngs every-
where rushing by, nature is here, here
for you ; it is worth your thought and
time to investigate ; the true natural-
ist invites you to more than a fad, to
more than a collector's spirit, to more
than delving in things disagreeable or
uncanny. He offers you life in all its
fullness ; he offers you relief from the
strain of always looking out for the
road and the jostlings and the colli-
sions.

It Has Been Discovered.

Listen, my nature study teachers,
to a modern fable.

Once upon a Time for somewhat a
Long Time, a number of People went
to Search for a Hidden Treasure in a
Forest. Each member of the Party
Took his own Method of Searching,
according to Talents and Interests.
Some watched, a few dug, others Cal-
culated with Elaborate Instruments
and not a Few Sat Negligently under
the Trees with Apparent Interest and
Said, "Hugh! You'll never find it!"
Occasionally all stopped and met in
little groups or larger Congress to Dis-
cuss the Prospects and Progress.
Suddenly a small group of workers
shouted exultantly, "Here it is." Then
gladly ran to their aid a few others
singly and in little parties. But many
especially those under the trees and
not a few more Diligent Workers
only glanced that way and Casually
said, "Oh, Pshaw ! They haven't got
it ; we won't go to see. I almost hope
they haven't for, even if they have,
it would not be so much to our credit
as to idle and hunt and calculate and
talk. We won't help them to get it
out ; we will Look the Other Way and
make believe it Hasn't Been Found.

But not a few who ran Hastily To
Assist at once said, "It's even Greater
Good and Credit to land the Treasure
than merely to find it. One can Find
it but it takes many to Distribute — to
Make Available.

5j» 5|C 2fC *JC 3|C 5JC

For vears we all have talked and the-

178

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

orized and discussed the pros and cons
of nature study. Finally its merits
became generally accepted. Then
came Arcadia with its ways and
means of personal aid to all who need
such aid. Do not be idle; do not talk;
do not theorize ; but come and dig.
You shall have full credit for all you
do, now in our early days. 'Tis your
treasure ; it is ours. Will you be "one
of us ?"

A Swallow Observation.

Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.
To The; Editor: —

I was looking across the city from
the sixteenth story of the Ford Build-
ing here. There is a fine view there.
One can see the Detroit River with
Bell Isle lying in it, and the city,
appears a bewildering mass of roofs
of every conceivable shape and size.

Some one on a floor above me tore
up a sheet of paper into pieces of about
one square inch each and threw these

pieces out of a window. Like little
white butterflies the pieces sailed
about, going some up and some down,
and didn't a swallow swoop down on
one of these pieces and catch it in his
mouth ! I cannot be sure but I believe
he swallowed it. At any rate he re-
turned and caught another and yet
another of those flying bits of paper.
After tasting one it would seem he
could hardly have been deceived, think-
ing them insects. As for me, I think
he enjoyed sailing through that bound-
less sea of air and snapping up those
fluttering bits. The probabilities are
that the same thing often happens
there and perhaps this is an idiosyn-
crasy of this particular bird.

Very truly yours,
Frederick Schwankovsky.

Please experiment and see whether
the swallow actually takes several
pieces, how many, etc. Try colored
papers.

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

Personal Explanatory Note: — Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing Chap
ters are represented by this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years
of age) are referred to my department ("Nature and Science") in the "St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen-
tury Company, New York City. — Edward F. Bigelow.

Furnished a Room.

One of our oldest and most loyal
chapters, No. 91 of Buffalo, New York,
has supplied all the furniture for the
mailing and accounting room of the new
AA Home. The outfit consists of a
large, flat top desk in beautiful oak,
pull slides and filing drawers at each
end, a five-foot center table, a wrap-
ping table and several chairs. A
framed inscription on the wall gives to
all visitors information of the liberal
gift.

If other Chapters desire to make,
memorial gifts, we shall be glad to give
information on the things most needed.
We are also starting a museum and
will welcome single specimens or cab-
inets.

Society for the Protection of Native
Plants.

There is danger of extermination of
many interesting and beautiful wild
flowers through thoughtless and in-
discriminate picking. Those flowers
which are gathered for sale are in
especial danger, as, when they become
commercially valuable, they are gath-
ered in great quantities. The only way
of checking this is to refrain from buy-

ing.

It is hoped that the love of natural
beauty which is encouraged in us by
the nature books will lead us one step
further, and induce us to pick few
flowers instead of many, and to use
moderation in breaking large branches
of flowering shrubs, which will live in

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

179

water but a few days, but represent
the growth of many years.

This society urges that we all use

1. Moderation. Do not pick all that
you find. Many flowers must be left
to develop seeds for future plants.

2. Care. Never pull up the plant, for
the roots are of no use in a bunch of
flowers, and their destruction means
the extinction of the plant. Cut when
possible.

3. Judgment. Many flowers, such as
wild roses, asters, and golden-rod, may
be picked with impunity, but when
flowers are few or rare do not pick
them. Do not pick flowers which must
die before you reach home, nor great
quantities of those flowers whose grace
and beauty are better seen in a lew
than in many massed together.

For the leaflets of the society apply
to Miss M. E. Carter, Boston Society
of Natural History, Boston.

Don't Delude Yourself.

Are you a chemist?

Oh, yes. I am a very great chemist ;
have always been a chemist since I
can remember. My father and mother
were great chemists.

I am glad to know that. I am pub-
lishing a magazine devoted to chemis-
try and shall be pleased to have you
take active interest. I have a lab-
oratory too, and would like you to
make some special analysis.

Oh no ; no. I'm not a chemist in
that way. I love chemistry; I just
dote on it; that's all.

But please be more specific. In
what does your chemistry consist and
that of your father and mother, uncle,
cousin, sister and aunt.

Oh, we go around all day long and
enjoy breathing oxygen and nitrogen ;
every time we are thirsty we drink co-
piously of hydrogen and oxygen ; we
dote on that, especially with proper
acids and essential oils, and then, why,
will you believe it, we once read in a
book that our whole family eats pro-
teids and carbons, etc.

What kind of a chemist, dear reader,
is that? Wouldn't any well-informed
chemist "collapse" if any one should
lay claim to the name of chemist on
any so flimsy a foundation?

But, you expostulate, no sane or

sensible person even made such a
claim.

Perhaps not, for the foregoing is to
be regarded as a sort of fable. The
moral is, "Be candid." That suppo-
sitious "chemist" whose claim to the
title was breathing air and drinking
water has an exact counterpart in
many who assert, "I am as much a
nature lover as you ; I dote on nature,"
my father and mother always taught me
to like nature. "I've been with nature
all my life (sic) but you see I have no
time to read magazines like yours and
no time to study the nature about
which you write."

Usually it will be found that such
a love of nature consists in a ride over
a country road on a sunshiny day ;
in using flowers for ornament ; in cas-
ually glancing at trees, or, well, you
know.

If you really are a lover of nature,
you will pay some devoted, thought-
ful, painstaking attention to at least
some one phase of her work. Fancy
a lover of any kind that does not pay
devoted assiduous attention to the
beloved, and has no time to read let-
ters from the loved one — but the ap-
plication is self-evident.

I have great respect for the candor
of the man who said, "I don't care a
rap about nature. It is true I like
outdoor exercise and outdoor sports
but as for nature as you fellows find
it who go prying into stone piles and
quarries, and poke around in ditches-,
and catch bugs and things, I couldn't
bear it. For a bird give me a chicken
or a turkey well cooked, and for a
plant a roll of choice Havana is good
enough for me !"

Some Satisfactions, More Inspirations.

The 1909 Session of the Arcadia
Summer School is ended. It was a
success — just enough to make the
work a pleasure and to afford satis-
faction that the session was attempted
though amidst most discouraging sur-
roundings, in the fact that none of the
buildings were completed, and teams
and men were busy in grading the
grounds.

On the other hand, it was not so
great a success as to leave no inspira-
tions and desires for further improve-

i8o

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

ment. ' 'Tis not in mortals to com-
mand success ; we'll do more, Sem-
pronious, we'll deserve it." The Sum-
mer School was a great success in at
least one particular — it showed that it
deserved success. It also showed mark-
edly how difficult it is to implaint a
new idea in the minds of the public.
It seemed to the Director that all was
perfectly plain and fully announced.
By means of circulars, announcements
in The Guide to Nature and various
other periodicals, information was
widely circulated. Local newspapers
were especially liberal in interest. One
devoted over a column with bold head
lines. The gist of it was that the
school began June 21, was for all
ages and in any department of nature
with terms and selection of subjects
left wholly to each member of the
school. Could anything be clearer,
broader or more liberal ? And yet the
curious misconstructions, the inquiries
the "didn't know about it," "couldn't
understand Avhat you were going to
do," were some humorous and some
painful, at least to the Director.

Sessions were held on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays, at 9:00 a.m.
for boys and girls and at 2 :oo p.m. for
men and women. There were indoor
class work at laboratory tables, con-
ferences, quizzes, seminars and lec-
tures. There were special demonstra-
tions in the apiarian laboratory. There
were five excursions, including one
afternoon in an oyster boat on the
Sound at the conclusion of which tea
was served in an Italian garden by a
friend of the school. The membership
of the school was seventeen boys and
girls and seventeen men and women.

The session of 1910 will be under
greatly improved facilities but on the
same general plan as this — one month
all ages, all topics, pay what ymi wish.
Already we have enrolled several for
that session. Perhaps you would like
to be a member.

Gleanings Near to Nature's Heart.

BY KATE A. JONES, GRANTHAM, NEW
HAMPSHIRE.

"The glory of the Lord is seen upon
the mountains."

I am sitting in a peaceful valley
with grand old mountains towering
above me, broad fields white with
daisies or golden with buttercups be-,
tore me, hundreds of birds singing mer-
rily, and the air full of the smell of
new mown hay, while over all hangs
the bending sky full of sunshine.

It is in such surroundings that one
especially appreciates the truth of Rev-
erend Henry M. Field's beautiful
thought : "Nature soothes and com-
forts us ; she speaks in gentle tones, as
if she had a heart of tenderness, a
motherly sympathy with the sorrow
of her children. There is something
in the deep silence of the woods that
seems to say, "Peace, be still !" The
brooks murmur softly as they flow
between their mossy banks, as if they
would not disturb our musings, but
"glide into them, and steal away their
sharpness ere we are aware." The
robins sing in notes not too gay, but
that speak of returning spring after a
long dark winter ; and the soft airs
that touch the brow seem to lift gently
the grief that rested there, and carry it
away on the evening wind."

After months spent in the city how
good it seems to breathe once more the
pure air, and look out across the
broad intervales. The rides in the city
seem so limited and circumscribed
compared to the miles and miles of
hill and plain upon which we gaze
when we drive or walk among the pine
clad hills ; we follow the narrow-
road beside winding streams, through
quaint covered wooden bridges and
across the meadows — where meadow
larks are singing sweetly and bright
flowers lift their cims to the sun. Back
to the pleasant farmhouse iust at sun-
set as the last light of day touches
the mountain tons with a parting
splendor, and we see : —

"The gold against the amethyst,
The ereen against the rose."

THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE.

181

5 The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League 5

By George Klingle, Summit, New Jersey

Explanation;- The aims of this League are in many respects the same as those ol The Agassiz Association
rnerefore it has been proposed that the adult interests be represented by "The Guide to Nature" and thai the
League co-operate, or possibly be affiliated, with The Agassiz Association — E F B

August Wild Flowers.

Though the months of spring are
rich in pleasure for the wild flower
lover, nature has her wealth in flora
through other months as well, and in
this latitude to August is given lav-
ishly of botli tender and rich coloring.

The flowers that bordered the mea-
dows and roadsides in July linger over,
in many species, in undiminished
beauty, while other blooms are open-
ing to tell us, in true Autumn fashion,
that the reign of Summer is over.

FALSE DRAGON HEAD
Rapidly Disappearing

Among blooms in white, which do
so much to beautify fields and road-
sides in early August, is the mountain
mint, of pretty delicate foliage and
clustered white flowers, held on deli-
cate stems perhaps eighteen inches
above the ground.

The white snakeroot (Eupatorium
ageratoidee) too, a more imposing and
beautiful resident of woods, comes
with the late summer, its white clus-
ters of small tubular blossoms rival-
ing in beauty, far and away, that other
Eupatorium the boneset, blooming
simultaneously and adding its share
of attractiveness to spaces, chiefly pre-
empted by the purples and reds of the
iron and Joe Pye weeds.

Another choice bloom of the August
woods and hedgerows is the Culvers
root (Veronica Virginica), form of
beauty which we share with the flower-
lovers of Japan, where the same spe-
cies is to be found. No eye finding
pleasure in nature's grace can fail to
be attracted by the tall swaying stems,
reaching five or six feet in the air, with
their lance-shaped,whorled leaves and
surmounted by numerous slender
spikes of white ; a fairy-like company
stirring with every breath of passing
air.

Those of us who are lucky enough
to find also the rapidly disappearing
starry campion (Silene stellata), whose
loose panicles of white flowers are
hung on tall, slender, waving stems,
must look for it longer than we used
to do, unless we happen to know where
it yet survives the vandalism of today.
It is one of the members of the catch-
fly family, which belongs to our east-
ern flora, and is quite beautiful enough
with its fringed, airy bells, to occupy
a place in any garden. If the lover of
flowers, who has not yet learned to
find pleasure in looking upon their

182

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

beauty and unselfishly leaving them
where they grew would at least ■ con-
sider nature sufficiently to cut rather
than pull the blooms, much less dam-
age would be done in nature's wild
gardens. To pull the blooms of the
starry campion is usually to tear the
lithe thing from the soil and close its
sweet period of ministry forever.

To one not familiar with all the
bright things of wood and meadow,
the first sight of the great willow-
herb's (Epilobium augustifolium) long
racemes of pink flowers, reaching per-
haps five or six feet in the air, is a rev-
elation indeed.

When we find this showy Epilobium
the first inspiration must always be to
glance around for burnt woodwork, or
downward to the soil for crumbling
plaster as, true to its name of fire-weed,
it usually locates amid the debris of
some ruined house ; in itself it is some-
thing of a shaft of flame.

Of more tender coloring, blooming in
August or September, is the false-
dragon-head (Physostegia Virginiana),
a very erect pretty member of the mint
family, with the proverbial square
stems, leaves opposite and toothed, to
be met with either in meadow or road-
side. The flowers of delicate violet
pink, veined with deeper coloring,
clustered in tall spikes, reaching four
or five feet above the ground, are
among the most attractive of our late
blooms, entirely too stately and lovely
to be passed unnoticed by any lover of
nature's beauty.

In purple there is the little down-
trodden heal-all (Brunella Vulgaris),
also a mint, which, though largely un-
noticed and usually mowed down, if
given the chance will beautify an un-
trodden corner or spread its purple
over a roadside. To one who notices
how nature contrives to overcome or
conform to the demands of circum-
stance, this little mint reveals a spirit
of conquest over adversity. A luxuri-
ant grower when all goes well, its
close spikes may stand up a foot above
the ground, but when its home is where
a close-cutting mower passes over, one
may see the mosaic of heal-all and

grass, the purple held in safety close to
the earth, unscathed by the blade of
the mower

This little wayside wanderer is pos-
sessed of healing qualities long known
and utilized in the old world and some-
what in the new. If one would see the
deep tones of purple, the "crushed

. "•>*' / ■

GREAT BLUE LOBELIA (RATTLESXAKEROOT
AT RIGHT SIDE)
The great pure lobelia is one of the loveliest
flowers but is growing very scare through the reck-
lessness of flower hunters.

strawberry" hues blending with tall
grasses, let him look over the marsh-
land, the undisturbed wood-lot or mea-
dow where the iron-weeds and the Joe
Pye-weeds cluster in companies and
stand towering well above the groups
of Golden-rods.

Beauty lies under foot and on every
side : where nature reigns its common
yarrows, daisies, black-eyed Susans,
lend charm to the hedge-rows and
fields, though these humble growths
be only classed with most obtrusive
weeds.

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

183

Who does not enjoy sauntering
through a pathway where chicory
spreads its blue? Even though this
name be among those of intruders on
farm-lands, where it is indeed a most
unwelcome guest, a purer blue is not
to be found along the ranks of the flow-
ers, and seems the more enjoyable be-
cause of bringing to the roadside a
color not always present among the
flowers.

The chicory is not valued for its
beauty alone, but from ancient times,
when the Egyptians used it lavishly as
an article of diet, until the present its
name is among the valued forms of
vegetation in some districts. Not only
the leaves have been used as food, but
as we all know, its roots are roasted
and ground for use as a substitute for
coffee, both in this country and abroad.

If August has her sturdy weeds,
flaunting rich coloring in reds and yel-
lows, it also has its frail, fair blooms,
delicate as any spring-time flower.
Among these one would not forget the
hare-bell (Campanula-rotundifolia),
sometimes given erroneously as hair-
bell, whose thread-like stems might
seem to indicate the appropriateness of
the latter title.

From July to latest autumn its
bright, airy bells decorate the delicate
stems, drooping over rocks or stones
and vibrate with every breath of air,
even the leaves being almost as thread-
like as the stem. When one sits under
a tent or roof and dreams over wild life
outside, while torrents beat and mad
winds rush by, how impossible it seems

for such a fragile flower to live, yet
go to it when the sun shines out and all
the storm is hushed, and you will see
how soon the victor buds hang out
their azure bells.

Last November, in the wild garden
of the writer, the harebells were
fresh and blue though looking through
a veil of melting snow. But the hand
of the flower-gatherer is robbing this
country of these forms of beauty, which
through their agency annually grows
less, however able they may be to hold
their own through beating storms.

For stateliness and beauty perhaps
no flower of the wild can take prece-
dence of the lobelias — the great lobelia
(Lobelia syphilitica), of purest blue,
and Lobelia Cardinalis, the cardinal
flower, of richest crimson. Only the
remnants of these fair spirits now
haunt deep woods and brooksides with
their rich foliage and racemes of na-
ture's most brilliant coloring; they, like
the vast array of exterminated wood-
land flowers are passing, through the
hand of the flower gatherer, from na-
ture's pageant. The humblest weeds
are agents of usefulness and sources of
joy to those who accept, in loving spirit,
their lowly ministry.

Unconsciously the influence of the
wayside flower lightens the shadows of
the days, even for those who never
pause to speak its name, or to consider
its wondrous beauty. With such
wealth on every side, few of us, per-
haps ever wait to consider what this
world would be without the ministry of
the flowers.

In the article by R. C. Caskey in the July issue of The Guide to Nature, the date of seeing a
yellow warbler should have read April 21st and not April 1st.

IlTERARY

BIOGRAPHICAL

One Hundred Experiments in Elementary
Agriculture for California Schools. By

Riley O. Johnson, Head of Department
of Biology and Nature-Study, State Nor-
mal School, Chico, California.

"In this bulletin the writer has attempted
to give to teachers in connected form a full
and suggestive series of experiments in ele-
mentary agriculture, dealing as fully as pos-
sible with the physics, chemistry and bi-
ology of the subject."

184

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The Home Aquarium and How to Care for

It. A Guide to Its Fishes, Other Ani-
mals, and Plants, with many Illustra-
tions. By Eugene Smith. New York
City: E. P. Button & Company.
Mr. Smith is an aquariist; he knows what
he is writing about. He has produced a
convenient handbook, especially for those
who wish to establish home aquaria.

more of the knowledge which was to
prepare him for his greatest work, in
his daily tasks, the "chores" about the
farm, which are always waiting for the
younger part of any family surrounded

Flying Plover: His Stories, Told Him by
Stniat-hy-the-fire, By G. E. Theodore
Roberts. Illustrated and decorated by
Charles Livingston Bull. L. C. Page &
Company.
Plover is a young boy in Labrador. The
book contains stories told by his grand-
mother. "The old woman's name was
Squat-by-the-fire. She was the wisest per-
son in the tribe, in spite of the fact that
an old man who lived in another village
said that he knew twice as much as any-
body in the whole world. She was deep
in medicine and history and story-telling.
She could paint fine pictures on bark and
cured skins, and was skilful in the carving
of wonderful little figures in wood and bone
and walrus ivory. She knew so much, and
looked so wise, and had such bright eyes,
that many of the tribesmen believed that
she was a magician."

John Walton Spencer: "Uncle John."

BY ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK,
ITHACA, N. Y.

It is by the second name at the head
of this article that the man I am to
write about is best and most widely
known. Frequently letters came to
him, addressed in sprawling, unformed
hand-writing to, "Uncle John, Cornell
University," with no mention of sur-
name, or of city or state. Postal clerks
got used to such a state of affairs, and
when the much-prized replies were
taken from the office, the children's
confidence in their friend was justified.
And so, it is about "Uncle John"
that I prefer to write. He was born at
Cherry Valley, New York, in June of
1843, but soon afterward his parents
moved to Westfield, in Chautauqua
County. The moving was not accom-
plished by stepping aboard of a train
in the morning, and arriving at their
destination on the same day. They
traveled by the packet-boat on the Erie
Canal to Buffalo, and from thence to
Westfield by Lake Erie schooner, a
"two-master."

He grew up on the farm, attending
the district school, but getting far

"UNCLE JOHN" WALTON SPENCER

by the growing things which make up
most of the farmer's work and life.
Even his experience as a business man
was strongly biased by the influence of
his farm up-bringing. "I made my
first money by a venture in ducks,"
he wrote to a lad who had asked him
"how a fellow could make a little
money of his own." "I dropped po-
tatoes for a neighbor all one warm day
in May and received in payment my
dinner and thirteen duck eggs, which
I set under a 'broody' hen borrowed
from another neighbor;" and then fol-
lowed the amusing story of his early
cares as a prooerty-holder and the
amount of his final profits.

A term at the select school supple-
mented that of the home district and
with the coming of age came the young
man's desire to see the world. He
went west, saw San Francisco in the

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

185

fever of the war-time clays, when gold
was at a premium and gold-mining"
the chief industry of the state whose
wheat fields and orange groves were
later to yield her greater wealth than
all her mines ; he sailed before the mast
in Pacific Ocean ships and in the
"fo'c'sle" listened to the tales of sea-
men to whom the great sea was but a
highway for the world's trade ; he lived
for a year and a half in the Sandwich
Islands, when as an independent native
kingdom, their commerce and agri-
culture were in a state comparatively
primitive, when one thinks of their
present development and riches.

But the home claimed him and he
returned to the farm. As the years
went by the conviction grew with him
that the state was doing too little to
help the farmer, upon whose pros-
perity and content the real welfare of
a people rests ; not only the young
men, who in those days chose the Col-
lege of Agriculture in far fewer
numbers than they do now when "go-
ing in for an education," but the men
and women too old to go to school, and
the boys and girls too young to chose
a life's vocation, needed that the
school should come to them.

The same thought had been dwelling
in other minds, and at the New York
State Agricultural College an "Exten-
sion Department" had been organized.
Mr. Spencer became a member of the
staff in November, 1896, and soon after
was begun the publication of the
"Farmers' Reading-Course Bulletins,"
and the "Nature-Study Leaflets" for
the public schools. Both were carried
on by correspondence plan. The col-
lege felt a little uncertain of the spirit
in which the Nature-study would be
received by the teachers. It was not
required work. There was no doubt
about its value, but it was feared that
many might look upon it as only
another fad added to those with which
they were already acquainted. "Real
farmers" too. who held the plow and
trod in its furrows, were prone to
think that there was little for them
to learn from "book farmers." But to
the Teachers' Institutes and the Farm-
ers' Institutes came Uncle John and
his colleagues persuasively declaring

that Nature's ways had not yet all
been found out and that the teaching-
offered by the scientific people was of
genuine, practical value.

It was no wonder that the farmers,
the teachers, and beyond all others,
the children in the schools, responded
to the touch of his magnetic person-
ality. He was himself a farmer, and
had been for years endeavoring to
understand the why of agricultural
processes as well as the hozv; he
could speak from experience. Soon
the farmers who were receiving the
Reading-Course and returning Dis-
cussion Papers were numbered by the
thousands, and the enrollment of
"Junior Naturalists" was not long in
reaching twenty-five thousand names.
Increased appropriations for the Ex-
tension Department became necessary
and the state granted them, believing
the work to be well worth while.

The avowed purpose of both lines
of work was to convince the country
dwellers that their lines were, in gen-
eral, cast in pleasant places ; that "a
little land well tilled" could be made
to yield as good an income, and one
which could be more pleasantly and
advantageously disposed, than the
same amount of effect could obtain
in other ways ; and that if the under-
lying principles of their work were
better understood, it would be deprived
of much of its drudgery.

The lessons prepared for the pupils
in the schools strove to help the child-
ren to see what they were looking at
and to draw a correct inference from
what they saw, sure that such a
knowledge of the beauty and use of
the common things in the world about
them would lead them to love the
country better and be content to live
therein. They were encouraged to
write to Uncle John about what they
saw, and to ask questions concerning
things they wished to know of the
living, growing world about them.
And they did write ; for several years
the number of letters received from
his "nieces and nephews" was more
than thirty thousand. Never was a
request from a child willingly neglect-
ed, though acknowledgments were
made whenever possible through the

i86

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

good offices of the teachers. But his
direct, personal correspondence with
the children of the state reached an
enormous volume. This part of the
work absorbed his full time and
strength and the Reading-Course was
given over to other hands. He not
only wrote to the children, he visited
and talked to them in their schools,
generally at their urgent invitation.
Once each year, when the children of
the home county were invited to
Cornell for a day, it was not the picnic
on the Campus nor the various things
to be seen in the buildings which held
the foremost place in their thoughts,
but the meeting with Uncle John.
"You are the best loved man in the
state," said one of the colleagues, see-
ing him extricate himself from one
eager troop, only to be engulfed by
another.

His is a great power, that of reach-
ing out and drawing toward him the
hearts of the young, and its influence
over the thousands of hearts and minds
who felt it, cannot be slight nor
transient. The children miss him and
he will be remembered by them long
and fondly. I can perhaps end this
article best in his own words, spoken
as he was about to leave the univer-
sity on reaching the age of retirement :
"As the time approaches when I am to
lay down this work because of having
reached the age limit and return to
my beloved 'Bellwether,' and there
'mark time' to the end, I can look
back in a perspective way over the
events of the past twelve years as I
have never done before. I can see
how the pioneer promoters thought
only of the work and never of them-
selves or how they would be consid-
ered by the public. As for myself
I am glad that I have learned to know
the heart of a child and that I have
lived to see three-score and five years."
But though his years are three-score
and five he is not old, nor can he ever
be old. The spirit of eternal youth
vivifies his every thought and act, and
his heart will ever be child-like and in
full sympathy with the heart of even
the youngest of his nephews and
nieces.

FAVORITE SAYINGS BY MR. SPENCER.

Beware of the ignorance of the edu-
cated in plans for the benefit of the
plain people.

My slogan has been to give one thing
to a thousand children rather than a
thousand things to one. The former
is extension teaching, the latter is
academic.

In nature there is nothing so ag-
gressive as the impulse for motherhood.
The timid rabbit has caused greater
devastation in Australia than the lion
in Africa.

The man who can find comradeship
in associating with himself has a foun-
tain of culture. Life in a "Hurrah's
nest" is enervating. The man or
woman to whom folks are necessary is
to be pitied.

All plants have an impulse to grow,
produce seeds and thereby hold the
soil against rivals. The opportunity
of the husbandman is to rely upon
that impulse and by making plants
comfortable, secure a harvest.

The bane of our education is that
it is planned for paragon children.
Mediocre children have qualities that
the world needs. The gnarled oak
gives strength to the ship but is not
sought after for quarter sawing to be
used in making ornamental furniture.

When a farm boy carrying wood for
the kitchen stove, wood was a bore;
carrying ball bats for a game down on
the flats was a privilege eagerly sought.
Stove wood and ball bats may have
come from the same tree. The man is
an alchemist who is able to place the
same halo about stove wood duties that
he finds in ball bat pleasures.

The soil is the sepulcher and the res-
urrection of all life in the past. The
greater the sepulcher the greater the
resurrection. The greater the resur-
rection the greater the growth. The
life of yesterday seeks the earth to-day
that new life may come from it to-
morrow. The soil is composed of,
stone flour and organic matter mixed
(humas) ; — the greater the store of
organic matter the greater the fertil-
ity.

RECREATION * VOL II SEPT.-QCT., 1909 No 6-7* EDUCATION

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR
ADULTS. DEVOTED TO SEASHORE, SUBURBS,
COUNTRY AND THE INTERESTS THEREOF

GUIDANCE AS TO TEMPORARY OR PERMA-
NENT HOMES; INSTRUCTION AS TO PLANTS
AND ANIMALS, AND OBSERVATIONS AS TO
WILD NATURE :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

FOR THE RESIDENT, TOURIST, VACATIONIST
AND NATURALIST. FOR ALL WHO LOVE
OR STUDY COMMONPLACE NATURE WITH
UNCOMMON INTEREST :: :: :: :: ::

ENLARGEMENT
SIZE, SCOPE AND EDITION
number is enlarged sixteen pages, adds

REAL ESTATE

This number is enlarged sixteen pages, adds a
DEPARTMENT and increases its edition five hundred copies.

This is not a change but a fulfillment of original plans. From the
first, it has been our desire to give complete guidance in getting near to the
heart of nature. This includes first the home and surroundings, then the
details of nature interests. In nature nearness, both physical and mental, we
hope to serve you better than ever before.

THE REGULAR VISITING HOURS
Sundays and Wednesdays :: ::

(for non-members) AT ARCADIA:
:: :: :: 4:00 to 6:00 P. M.

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION, ARCADIA, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT
Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. - Single Copy, 10 Cents

Entered as second-class matter June 12, 1909, at the post office, Sound Beach, Conn., und.r Act of March 3, 1879

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Address

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PUBLISHERS NOTICES

A Double Number.
On account of mechanical difficulties
and consequent delays at the printing
office, the publication of "The Guide
to Nature" has been pushed forward a
few days each month. To catch up
this number contains double the num-
ber of pages of our last issue and is
for September-October. We are prom-
ised that the next number will be is-
sued on time.

How to Live in Arcadia.

Our Arcadia, the Home of The
Guide to Nature and allied interests —
the Nature Institution, is but the office,
the working headquarters, of a larger
Arcadia than which there is no finer
on earth.

The name of Sound Beach empha-
sizes the attractions of one section of
the wonderfully beautiful and interest-
ing beach of Long Island Sound. All
along the shore there is marine scenery
unsurpassed by any other in the world.
For the naturalist, these biological col-
lecting grounds are unequalled. Ex-
tending northward from the beach are
excellent roads and trolley lines giving
easy access, afoot or on wheels, to
Arcadian scenery that would make the
original Pan covetous — as wild, pictur-
esque and primitive as in the clays
when the Indian tribes (commemora-
ted in many local names) were most
active and prosperous.

There are frequent cosy resting
places for the tired, many picturesque
scenes for camerist or artist and plenty
of detail for the careful student.

Thus far it has been our mission to be
a guide from the point of view of a nat-

uralist. With this issue The Guide to
Nature broadens its scope by guidance
to those in search of homes, temporary
or permanent, in this famous Arcadian
country.

If you wish to board, to rent, to buy
or to build, write to The Guide to Na-
ture.

If you have any of these facilities to
offer, write to The Guide to Nature.

In fact, for any information of getting
to, living in or profiting by the greater
or the smaller Arcadia, write to The
Guide to Nature.

The Sound Beach Idea.

Progress in the building and equip-
ment of Arcadia at Sound Beach to-
gether with certain developments of
plans as brought out in the Summer
School, gradually reveals the fact that
the Institution stands for a distinct new
idea of more than local interest. When
first anonunced it was generally suppos-
ed locally that Arcadia is merely the
headquarters for naturalists and the dis-
semination of natural science informa-
tion. Now it is evident that Arcadia
has back of it a distinct new social idea,
the development of which will be watch-
ed with general interest. If successful,
Sound Beach will signify not merely a
location but a new idea in summer re-
sorts.

Every year the migration from city
to country increases. This public de-
mand has been to the profit of the real
estate dealer or business house. Ingen-
ious methods have been adopted to suc-
cessfully advertise the various resorts.
Railroads and steamship lines have made
known as attractively as possible their
facilities of travel. Enterprising busi-
ness houses have vied with each other
to supply all needed goods. The city
resident seeking the country or seashore,
mountain or lake, has therefore been
able to go and to return, to buy or lease

ADVERTISEMENTS.

land, to obtain meats, groceries, vege-
tables, etc.

But, strange to say, until the es-
tablishment of Arcadia there has been
no place of popular resort where one
could get the essential thing desired-
that is, the real interest of the resort.
To eat, to breathe, to sleep, to exer-
cise, all the usual concomitants of the
resort, are but to cater to the animal.
For the change of thought, for food for
the esthetic and mental faculties, there
has been no provision. Arcadia is
supplying the guidance needed by the
city resident in seeking the enjoyment
of the country. It takes all ages, and
all degrees of wealth or lack of it,
and says, "You are a thinking person ;
you are a human being; you are more
than the colt in the field to merely
run, feed and sleep. We will assist
you in developing your best faculties,
in getting at the real interests of this
resort to which you have come."

Such an idea well put into practice
cannot fail to be efficacious in build-
ing up a place of resort from the men-
tal stress and strain of the city.

The Sound Beach idea will suc-
ceed ; it will be copied in other places.
And the strangest thing about it all
is that no one has thought of it before.
To many a resident of New York com-
ing to Sound Beach a guide is needed
as much as in the wildest woods of
Maine or in the Adirondacks. One
can get lost mentally in a world of
wonders and never find one's self as
much as easily as to be lost physically
in a roadless forest.

We Are What People Call Us.

We are a restaurant.

persist in calling us, as will be set forth in a
series of articles of which this is No. I.

^t* *|* 'i^ ^5^ ^£ *f*

Yes, we are a restaurant. It must be
admitted that at the time of moving
into the biological building and getting
settled the tables and glassware, we
gently denied and further explained to
the man who came in and incpiired,
"Are you ready to serve dinner here
yet?"

Come to reconsider, that is our spe-
ciality, only an occasional meal and not
a year around hotel of steady technical
work and routine, of piling up large
stores for regular guests.

Not a hotel of Carnegie Institution
nor a great University for the benefit
of a regular select few who can afford
it or are regularly profited by it ; but a
"restaurant" for the common people
who have "homes" of their own but
come to us for change or convenience.
Just a restaurer, a restorer, to take
you tired with the stress and strain of
modern civilization for a brief respite
from the strenuous duties of the day.
Just now and then a meal of good
things, selected carefully and supplied
in pleasing adaptation to your tastes.

Yes, we are merely a restaurant ; as
time will permit, in respite from other
things, we give you a feast from Na-
ture's bountiful realm. Oh, continue to
call us a restaurant ! May we never
become a great hotel !

Note : — Before proceeding further, let us
explain. There is an old saying, with much
truth in it, that a person may be or become
that in which he has implicit confidence and
earnest faith. We propose to go further and
say that Arcadia will accept and become every-
thing that the people persist in erroneously
calling it. It is so difficult to change public-
opinion that we take the easier course and
accept and assume all that we are called. While
the buildings of Arcadia (seven thus far) have
been in the process of erection, there have
been many curious remarks of misunderstand-
ing our simple yet imoortant purpose of lead-
ing people to a knowledge and love of nature.
We have been amused; we have been vexed;
now we are resigned and accept anything you

We are and always have been a mag-
azine of real estate, not artificialities.
We will issue at least "a rambler's
lease" to you. Is your title good,
really, not only legally?

It Has Come to This

"Are you fond of country life?"

"I never saw any."

"What ?"

"Fact."

"But I thought you were going to
spend your vacation in the country."

"So I did, but I found there only a
bad imitation of city life." Newspaper
clipping.

The above, heading and all, has
been published in several newspapers. It
expresses, as stated, a fact. There are
thousands of people who think they have
been to "country" or "seashore," who
have not a bit of interest in either place.
Thev have merelv changed the location

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Ill

of city rush of fashion and automobiles,
of pomp and ceremony, of nerve strain
and card parties.

It is the mission of The Guide to
Nature to show the real interests and
aid in obtaining the benefits of country or
suburbs, of "the simple life," of educa-
tion as well as recreation, of rest and
strength to mind and body.

Going to the City?
That is the big city, New York. If
you are going there, the best place to
stay is at the Hotel Cumberland. The
location is good ; there is an air of good
taste and refinement, and the fare is
excellent. There is no better place for
a day, a week or a month. It is on
Broadway and only a short walk north
of Times Square.

"Anastigmatics."

Our readers will remember with
pleasure the excellent publication of-
fered last year by the Bausch & Lomb
Optical Company under the name
"Anastigmatics." We are in receipt of
the 1909 edition of Anastigmatics and
find it an improvement over last year's
booklet inasmuch as it is more com-
plete and lists the three new photo-
graphic accessories. The booklet gives
a very clear and brief description of
the superior advantages possessed by
the Anastigmat as compared with the
Rapid Rectilinear Lens, with convinc-
ing illustrations. There is also a short
article on enlarging which will be of
assistance to amateurs. Wide angle
lenses are included in the new booklet,
and splendid examples of the work
possible with the different lenses listed
are given throughout the booklet.

The new accessories are : an im-
proved tele-photo attachment, new ray
filters and the compound shutter.
These useful articles are described and
illustrated and their use widens the
scope of the work which the amateurs
may undertake successfully.

"Anastigmatics" concludes with a
helpful list of suggestions which indi-
cates the best lenses to be used to-
gether with the size of shutter for a
large number of different cameras.

"Anastigmatics" for 1909 may be ob-
tained from your dealer, or direct by
addressing the Bausch & Lomb Opti-
cal Company at Rochester, New York
or the branch offices.

SCOTCH

COLLIES

I have for sale a few
high class puppies,
both sexes, by the
noted Madison Square
Garden winner, Par-
bold Provost.

Mal<-s $25 and $20.
Females $20 and $15.

Also the following rare bargains :
Craigmore Hope— A beautiful sable and
white dog, fit to win at small shows, or to
head a smallkennel, lowest price $35.
Craigmore Cashgirl— Rich golden sable and
white, full white collar and blaze, can win
a little, breeding unsurpassed, and a beauty
in good condition and coat. Price $35.
Craigmore Beauty— Imported, has won and
can win ; rich sable, full white collar and
frill Price $45.

Send for full particulars and copies of pedi-
gree of any or all. They are offered at half
price. Apply

WILLIAM C. HUNTER
Chambersburg, Pa.

Have also some good black and chocolate
"Poms."

100's of Flowers

FOR 25 CENTS

Buy bulbs and get sunshine. We

guarantee the blossoms even at these

very low prices.

Offer No. 201-5 Hyacinths, our selection, 25c
Offer No. 202-10 Tulips, named kinds,

our selection - 25c

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selection - 25c
Offer No. 206-12 Poets Narcissus, im-
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Offer No. 21 1-2 Amaryllis, our selection 25c
Offer No. 212-50 Mixed Crocuses - 25c
Offer No. 213-20 Assorted Freesias - 25c
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Send for our valuable catalog telling all
about what to plant and how to plant, for
Fall— FREE.

THE CONARD & JONES CO.

BOX 102 WEST GROVE, PA.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

THE GUIDE TO SITES AND HOUSES NEAR TO NATURE
SEASHORE, SUBURB AND COUNTRY

NATURE cannot improve on location and view of this elegant estate of
twelve acres on bluff overlooking Long Island Sound. Nineteen large
rooms, four baths, billiard room. Fine Spring. Seven-room gar-
dener's cottage. Good barns and out-houses. For particulars address
Editor of the Guide to Nature.

Farm of fifteen acres, all under cultivation except two acres of picturesque,
wooded ravine for sale at $7,000. Two houses (one with ten rooms), barn
and blacksmith's shop, workshop, chicken house, etc. Plenty of fruit, well
of pure cold water — in fact everything for an ideal summer home. Location
on main automobile road. Blacksmith's shop away from house on another
road and easily rented to good parties.

The owner of one of the choicest farms in this vicinity desires The
Guide to Nature to make known that his property is for sale. The view and
scenery are unexcelled for the nature lover. Vessels sailing on the Sound for
forty miles can be seen from the piazza. Fifteen room house. Kewanee
system of water. Good barns and garage. Seventy acres — ten woodland,
sixty ready for plow. Only four miles from Stamford.

For Further Particulars Address
EDITOR OF THE GUIDE TO NATURE

ADVERTISEMENTS.

SPRINGFIELD

PORTABLE HOUSE CO.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

MAKERS OF ALL KINDS OF

'Portable Houses for All Purposes

Summer Cottages

cAll Year 'Round Houses

Bungalows

Hunters' Cabins

Contractors' Offices

Garages

BUILT ON HONOR
SOLD ON MERIT

SEND FOR ILLUSTRATED CATALOG

SPRINGFIELD PORTABLE HOUSE CO.

Warehouse Ave.,

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

We built the "Arcadia Home " illustrated in this issue of

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

ADVERTISEMENTS.

WM. B.

BECKLEY, Pbest. WM. N. KEOGH,

Mgr .

THE

STAMFORD LUMBER

LUMBER

CO-

Sas

h, Doo

rs, Blinds and Window-Frames

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL

OFFICE AND YARD, 297 PACIFIC STREET

STAMFORD, CONN.

TOR FARMS IN STAMFORD

* or Shore Property from Stamford to
New Haven, write to

J. J. LYNCH,

Real Estate Agent.

Property bought, sold and exchanged,
Quintard Block, STAMFORD, CONN.

Telephones

J 346-2

/ 34G-3

The C. A. Williams Company

electrical engineering and
construction work

Atlantic and Main Sts., Stamford. Conn.

Main Officei Room 3, Qdihtarh Block

TOMPKINS' STONE

is used to beautify Walks and Drives.
Especially Summer Places.

WE CARRY IN STOCK THIS STONE

We also deal in

Coal, Wood and Drain Pipe

CHAS. F. WATERBURY

DAVI9 WATERBURY & SON

Phone 270 Canal Dock Stamford

Up-town Office : STARK BROS.,
40 Park Row.

HAVE YOU A HOBBY?

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Indian relics, shells, minerals, fossils, old firearms
or curios or natural history specimens of any kind,
you will find

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Guardian.

SAFETY— The Statutes of the State of Con-
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Trust Companies to keep a reserve equal to
that required by the Federal Government of
National Banks.

The Connecticut Legislature by an act passed in
its session of l!K)7 required Trust Companies to in-
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five years for such conversion of investments as
might be necessary.

This Company through its past conservatism
was enabled immediately to conform 10 the pro-
visions of the act and its deposits are now as secure-
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Especial attention given to Household and

Private Accounts of Women.

the SUNSET CAT JOURNAL

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Just a little nervous, a little
tired, a little discouraged?

As a few strokes from a loving
hand will soothe a weary forehead,
so the gentle pressure of the wild
grass soothes and strokes away the
nervous tension born of civilized
life. — Richard Jefferies.

We live in our Arcadia. Would
you like to have us help you to find
your Arcadia or, if you have found
it, help you to derive the most
possible value from it?

(

" Let us learn to be content with what we have. Let us get rid of our false estimates,
set up all the higher ideals — a quiet home; vines of our own planting; a few books full of
the inspiration of a genius ; a few friends worthy of being loved, and able to love us in
return; a hundred innocent pleasures that bring no pain or remorse; a devotion to the
right that will never swerve; a simple religion empty of bigotry, full of trust and hope and
love — and to such philosophy this world will give up all the empty joy it has." — David
Siving

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1909

Nos. 6 and 7

outdoor world

The Explorations of the New Arcadia

BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

RCADIA is a fact. There
have been times when it
seemed like a Munchausen
dream. Now its existence
has been verified, explored
and reported by an inter-
ested public. It took three
days to do it.
Saturday, September eighteenth, as
announced, was the Special Visiting
Day, but not all could come then.
Three ushers were kept busy all Satur-
day escorting parties and explaining de-
tails. This inspection was continued
on Sunday afternoon by those who had
requested to postpone their visit till
then on account of engagements on Sat-
urday. The local school children made
their visit on Monday. They devoted
chief attention to the home of "Na-
ture and Science" and left permanent
imprints of their visit upon camera
plates as well as noon the yet unturfed
ground in front of the A A Home.

The buildings thus far erected are
seven in number, as follows:

i. Residence.
2. Entrance to court.
Administration.

4. General biological laboratory

containing photographic gallery and
dark room.

5. Apiarian laboratory.

6. Greenhouse with tank aquarium.

7. Pet house with yards and indoor
and outdoor cages for pets.

This completes all ten listed in the
announcement in the January, 1909, is-
sue of The Guide to Nature, with the
exception of the astronomical gallery
and bird house. The separate building
then announced for photography was
included in the biological laboratory.
Space has been left for the bird house
and the observatory. The southeast
corner is to be fenced off and laid out
for experimental work and study of
plants. Trees, shrubs and climbing
vines (no two alike) are to occupy all
snace not taken by buildings and paths.
It will be really "a little country."

Uoon entering the administration

190

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

building", otnerwise known as the AA
Home, the visitors wrote their names
in a register, beside which were the
cash books. Any contributor to the in-
stitution is not only permitted to ex-
amine these cash books but is urged
to do so. Every member, subscriber
or contributor may thus know all in-
come and expenditure. Thus far the
records of these books have met with
unanimous approval.

In the mailing and accounting room
the furniture was supplied by AA
Chapter No. 91 of Buffalo, New York.

adding to the picturesqueness of that
corner of the court.

In this laboratory is an operating
bench fitted with stereopticon, media-
scope and projection microscope.
Acetylene is supplied by a generating
tank fitted with one hundred pounds of
carbide. Oxygen and hydrogen are
supplied in fifty-feet compression cyl-
inders. Thus there is every facility for
photo-micrographic work or for pro-
jection.

Back of this bench is a botanical
cabinet supplementing the botanical

THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING VIEWED FROM THE COURT SIDE.

At the rear of this room is a hall,
later to be fitted with shelves as the
nucleus of a museum. Connecting with
this hall is the vivaria room in which
are specimens of local turtles, frogs,
toads, crickets, etc. The vivaria are
placed before a window with excel-
lent adjustment for proper proportions
of light and shade. The occupants of
the vivaria are happy and contented —
perhaps more so than in their native
haunts. The boys and girls were espe-
cially interested in the "baby" snap-
ping turtle which seems far removed
from the ferocious looking big fellows
in the tank in the green house. To
enter the biological laboratory, one
crosses a bridge with artistic railings,

working table in another part of the
room. At the right of the room is an
aquatic table and sink with four fau-
cets, rubber tubing, etc., supplying ten
aquaria of various sizes. Here are to
be conducted extensive experiments
not only in science but in household
and schoolroom aquaria.

In this room is to be done nature
work in the name and spirit of Louis
Agassiz, and it is a satisfaction to know
that the tables and some other equip-
ments were largely supplied by two
daughters and a grandson of the fa-
mous scientist.

Among the interesting demonstra-
tions, at the other end of the room,
were two methods of seed dispersal —

THE EXPLORATION OF ARCADIA.

191

THE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY AND PHOTOGRAPHIC GALLERY.

the plumose tails of the clematis and
the popping seeds of the witch-hazel.
For two days, including Visiting Day,
the many branches of witch-hazel on
the wall "fired" their seeds in every
direction. A few were thrown the
entire length of the building.

In the photographic gallery were dis-
played many drawings for "Nature and
Science" of "St. Nicholas" by some of
the best naturalist artists of the coun-
try. Among these was work by Messrs.
King, Davis, Sawyer, Megargee,
Aaron, Stilson and others. All these

drawings were carefully examined and
much admired. On two other tables
were displayed large masses of speci-
mens (awaiting photography) with ac-
companying letters from children in
all parts of the world. These letters,
plentiful and interesting, had not been
selected for the occasion but were "just
as they came" the current month. The
correspondence of "Nature and Sci-
ence" of "St. Nicholas" has become so
large that it is an increasing problem
to attend to it all. Added to this is
the extensive correspondence of the

THE PET HOUSE, AT LEFT, AND END OF APIARIAN LABORATORY, AT THE RIGHT.

(The greenhouse is back of the pet house.)

[6z

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

adult AA and of others who write to
have recorded some observation or to
obtain information. At the west end of
the room is a novel set of photographic
mirrors, in unique setting, donated to
the institution by Mr. W. W. Heroy
of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Com-
pany. Some ingenious optical effects
gained by use of these mirrors greatly
amused the visitors.

Next the groups of visitors were es-
corted to the apiarian laboratory. Here
were shown nests of mud wasps, so-
cial wasps, yellow jackets, hornets and
bumblebees. In this last the bumble-
bees were emerging from their yellow,

mented with working benches outside.
Among the attractions was a hollow
log (door opening to give a view of
the interior) sent by the American
Museum of Natural History, New
York City, for refitting with bee con-
struction.

In a cage near the entrance to the pet
house were the fantails bred by Mr.
William E. Butler of Glenbrook. These
were much admired, and justly so, be-
cause they are the choicest specimens
of the fanciers' art, the product of a
lifetime of careful, loving, enthusiastic
skill.

Among the other attractions were

THE COURT SIDE OF THE RESIDENCE.

egg-shaped cocoons — to the interest of
some visitors and the fright of others.
Not a person was stung by them.
Honeybees in all sorts of hives were
shown. Among the exhibits was the
educational beehive exhibited by The
A. I. Root Company at the Jamestown
Exposition. This hive shows every-
thing in the life of the honeybee from
the magnified "tongue" in action to
the latest methods in queen rearing.
This laboratory is the most extensive
and best equipped for its work with
bees and other Hymenoptera of any
in existence. The experimental stands
are equipped with eighteen hives, supple-

several hutches of cavies, including a
pure white one in a family of jet black.
This "freak" is the only one with white
hair for many generations. Who shall
say why nature thus went off at right
angles to the regular outward course?

The blinking family of screech owls,
making "funny running down sounds
like tiny music boxes," elicited no lit-
tle laughter which caused the grotesque
birds to assume more than before an
expression of wonder as to what it
was all about. The hawk, crows,
woodchuck and quail came in for a
fair share of attention.

In the insectary the center of atten-

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

193

tion were the nests of ants. In one a
huge black female was surrounded by
the little ones, quite naturally sug-
gesting the remark, "Like a hen with
her chickens."

In the greenhouse were plants of tea,
which caused many of the visitors to
confess, in surprised tone, "Why, I
didn't know it looked like that." The
Mimosa, or sensitive plant, caused even
greater surprised expression, "I never
saw a plant that acts so like an animal."

"Yes," was the reply by the "funny"
man of the party, it's superior to some
animals ; it can "shut up" at even a
suggestion."

The collie puppies danced a welcome
and barked a good-bye to all visitors
as they passed down by the running
yard and stopped a moment to examine
the white pine "forests" (in plant
boxes) growing from the seed. Though
slighted by most of the visitors, these
experimentations in elementary for-
estry attracted the close inspection of
an appreciative few.

Although Arcadia has been in the
process of equipment and settling for
only a few weeks, it took each party
from an hour and a quarter to an hour
and a half to "go through," though the
usher of each party hurried on as ex-
peditiously as possible.

Enough has been done to show the
possibilities and probabilities ; enough
was said to show the appreciation of
the public.

Arcadia is a fact. The work has be-
gun. Its future is what you as well as
as we — make it.

The new buildings of Arcadia are the
workmanship of The Springfield Portable
House Company, Springfield, Massachu-
setts. They are of neat design and con-

venient arrangement.

The neat appearance of Arcadia is
nincn enhanced by a firm fence of ar-
tistic design put up by Caleb Nash,
Mount Vernon, New York.

The electric wiring of the residence
and entrance buildings was done in ex-
cellent manner bv The C. A. Williams
Co., of Stamford, Conn.

The Life of a Timber Rattlesnake.

BY C. A. CLARK, LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

When rattlesnakes first make their
appearance in the spring, after their
long hibernating period in the warm
side of a hill or ledge, they may be
seen basking among the rocks during
the warm, sunny days. They remain
among the ledges near their hiberna-
ting den until it is time for them to
leave the hills and go to the swampy
lowland to spend midsummer.

They mate before leaving the hills
and after reaching the lowlands each
pair locates in a favorite place where
they remain until it is nearly time for
them to enter the hills again to pass the
cold winter days in their den where
several of them hibernate together.

The young rattlesnakes, which are
born during July and August and some-
times in the first week of September,
when entering the den for their first
winter's sleep are from seven to twelve
inches in length and have the button
and one rattle, which indicate the first
year. If a person should see a rattle-
snake answering that description in
the fall, he will know that the snake
was born the same year.

On entering their dens all snakes are
very fat and go through the winter
without eating or drinking, living only
on the fat their bodies contain.

As to the age of a rattlesnake, it is
difficult to tell the exact age unless it
was born and kept in captivity, because
they may grow three or sometimes four
rattles in a year and they also may
lose more than that number. As a rule
they grow three rattles a year after the
first year. They always have a new
rattle after each shedding of their
skins and they shed their skins as
many times a year as they grow rattles.

Rattlesnakes hibernate in the same
dens and are seen in the same living
places for years and will remain in such
places until molested.

The illustration shows the writer
resting in a rattlesnakes' den. This
feat is not so dangerous as it seems
because the snakes know he is there
and they are just as much afraid of
him as some people are of them ; there-
fore, thev will not come out of the den
until everything is safe and quiet.

194

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

.. ■ ^

C. A. CLARK, LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, RESTING IN A RATTLESNAKE DEN.
Photographed by L. A. Wentworth, Lynn, Massachusetts.

One reason that rattlesnakes are not
frequently seen is because they do not
live in suitable travelling places for
the human being, and are seen by only
those who hunt them and those who
happen to come in contact with them
while crossing fields and ledgy places.
The rattlesnake is more dangerous in
the spring than at any other time of
the year because the venom has been
gathering all through the winter so
that when they come out of their dens
their two glands are full of the deadly
poison and a bite then would very
likely prove fatal in a very short time.
In the fall, after capturing their prey
during the summer season, their glands
contain less of the venom because they
have used it to kill the little animals
that they eat.

Rattlesnakes pass a quiet life and
will not make any attempt to harm us
if we keep away from them.

Many of our happiest glimpses of na-
ture are accidental. We stumble upon
things, yet it happens usually when we
are trying to find
Lore Sharp.

something. — Dallas

"Ough! I Don't Like Snakes."

That there is in the greater part of
humanity a dislike of snakes is as
generally an admitted fact as is the
existence of snakes. It is useless to
combat this mental aversion. Human-
ity will not love snakes, notwithstand-
ing all the pleas and eulogies of her-
petologists. All that can be expected
is to have justice done. I have implicit
confidence that humanity will be just,
if the facts in the case are rightly set
forth.

Newspapers are printed to please
as large a part of humanity as possible.
Perhaps this fact accounts for the
many misstatements regarding snakes.
"Snakes, poor things," says John Muir,
"nobody but God" love them." Most
newspapers are not catering to that
constituency, in facts of nature !

Did any reader ever see an item in
a newspaper about snakes that had a
good word for them? No. Such good
words would not please humanity in
general ; it would not add to the con-
stituency desired. An example has re-
cently come to my attention.

A Cincinnati newspaper under big
"scare head" of "Bad Snakes Scare

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

195

Berry Pickers," says that snakes are
found in the bushes and are a great
"trouble and danger," that "the unus-
ual wet weather has bi ought out large
numbers." That newspaper serves up
vivid accounts of "the nauseating effect
on the pickers of grasping a slimy
snake when thrusting the hands under
the heavy foliage of the bushes," "in
danger of blood poisoning from the
bite of even a garter snake at this time
of the year (note the newspaper time-
liness). It eulogizes and makes a hero
of a Boone County, Kentuckv. huck-
ster who had killed twenty black
snakes this month while gathering
berries. And all this I suppose with
granhic accounts of "fights in the
bushes" pleased the berry pickers and
doubtless added to the fame of the
newspaper for affording "interesting
reading." But the "interest" lacks one
vital essential to most real lovers of
nature, even if they do not include
snakes in the love — the statements are
not true.

One of our faithful Corresoonding
Members, Dr. G. A. Hinnen, of Cin-
cinnati, was in readiness to point out
some of the most flagrant errors in an
extended article from which we quote
the following:

"Never was falsehood greater than
this of the 'slimy snake.' A snake is
not slimy, nor has there ever been a
slimy one. No animal is as immacu-
lately clean as a snake ; it is free from
vermin of all kinds, such as is found-
on other animals, such as cats and
dogs, and its skin is never slimy ; even
after a bath or swim the snake emerges
with its body absolutely dry.

A snake's habits are cleanly ; its
food must be absolutely so, or the
snake will not touch it, and so its
mouth harbors fewer germs and less
filth than does that of a net cat or dog.
Compared with the proboscis or foot,
of a filthy house fly, or a mosquito,
the balance is decidedly on the snake's
side.

"When spied by man the first effort
on the part of the snake is to escape
and get out of harm's way. A snake
will not attack unless driven to bay or
frightened suddenly. It is the human

mind which conjures up all sorts of
fantastic and fancif'-1 usually impos-
sible things, which the snake is sup-
posed to do, such as taking its tail in
its mouth and forming a hoop to roll
after people, etc.

"Now, as to snakes venturing into
houses and yards, they do this for
but a single purpose, viz., in quest of
food. In some parts of the world
snakes are welcomed in houses, for,
without them, rats and mice would
make life absolutely unendurable. If
they come into yards they do so to
gather im the insects which abound on
the vegetables and plants.

'Yes, they do 'steal things from the
farmer;' they steal the rats and mice
cribs, the cellars and pantries ; they do
steal the cutworms, the grubs ; the
gnats and the flies and caterpillars,
which devastate the farmer's crops. If
he but observed carefully he would be
convinced beyond any doubt that this
is what the snake does.

"Why do snakes seek berry patches (
The reason for this is very simple. To
begin with, berry patches as a rule
abound with innumerable insects, and
so the snake is in the midst of plenty.
Secondly, the prickle of the bushes
afford protection to the snake from its
enemies. That is the reason snakes
prefer berry patches ; they are not
there to eat the berries, but to destroy,
the many insects of the berries.

"The Boone County huckster who
has killed no less than twenty black-
snakes this month in his berry patches,
is an ignoramus. If he took half a
day's time to investigate this mattei
he would be convinced that the snakes
protect his berries from insect ravages,
and that they are really worth his
protection, and that they are not his
enemies as he so foolishly and ridicu-
lously imagines.

"Snakes do not eat vegetable matter
in any shape or form ; their food cor
sists of slugs, beetles, bugs, caterpil-
lars, grubs, rats, mice, etc., and these
creatures must all be alive or the snake
will not touch them. Where food of
this character abounds the snake will
be found.

"They are not man's enemy, but one

196

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

of his very best friends, asking nothing
in return for their inestimable services,
but to be let severely alone. They
harm no one and should be welcomed
and protected by farmers, truck gar-
deners, nurserymen, in fact by man-
kind in general. Watch them at work
in the potato fields and along the sweet
potato rows as they silently glide from
plant to plant picking off each cater-
pillar or slug or worm, doing no injury
to man and none to the growing plants.
Watch them in the corn crib as they
lie in wait for the sneaking rat or the
destructive mouse.

"One snake in a corn crib will do
more to rid the place of rats and mice
than a dozen cats can ever do. fur-
thermore, the snake will not intrude
itself into anybody's way, nor will it
keep awake the family by caterwauling
all night.

"Quiet, unobtrusive, ever seeking a
place to hide when detected, always
ready to help mankind, the wrongly
despised and abused snake leads its
simple and useful life. Papers like
yours could save the farmers thou-
sands of dollars by trying to educate
the people in the right way ; when you
consider that the average annual loss
in this country from insect ravages
alone amounts to from $300,000,000 to
$400,000,000, and that there must be
added to this damage caused by rats,
mice, etc., etc., the figures amount be-
yond belief. With more birds, more
snakes, more toads, etc., this loss could
be reduced by more than seventy-five
per cent."

A Plea for Outdoor Exercise.
We all desire health, but few under-
stand how to retain it, and when lost
we resort to narcotics and other drugs
instead of going to the fields and woods
and holding sweet communion with,
the mother of all life. Nature offers
no concoction, she appeals to no legis-
latures to authorize poisonous preserv-
atives in her food. For real vigor she
bids us come to her realms of sunshine
and vivifying atmosphere, to her spa-
cious meadows and view her wonder-
ful panorama of miraculous transfor-
mations. By the glowing nower of
her sunshine she warms into life the

little sleeping germs that have silently
nestled in the bosom of old mother
earth for so many months. She bids
the delicate forms of the grass and
grain and flowers to come forth, en-
ergized by some invisible power; lift-,
ing their heads toward the light they
are kissed by the glowing sunbeams,
clothed by nature in all the beautiful
colors of the rainbow. Soon they
cover the fields and meadows with a
sheen of splendor.

Certainly, when we view these
realms of beauty it will be a harbinger
of revitalizing power to the tired and
the wreary, an inspiration of health to>
all.

Come to the fields of golf where the
soft white clouds look down with ten-
der smiles from out the purple blue.
Where the zephyrs are perfumed by
the sweet scented blossoms of the
flowers and trees, where all can bathe
in the gleaming sunshine, breathe the
vitalizing air and drive the poison
from the lungs, the venom from the
nerves and the germ dust from the
system. All these are within your
reach if you will join our Country Club
and play the healthful, animating game
of golf. It may cause you to execrate
or bless, to frown or smile, to scowl
or laugh, to be disgusting or pleased
but for the time at least it will banish
domestic and business cares, cultivate
your social nature, rest the body and
the mind, preserve your health and
strength and put money in your purse.
The inspiring atmosphere will quicken
the pulse, place roses on your cheek,
a twinkle in the eye, tints of sun
shine on the lips and a laughing happy
smile upon the countenance. Every
man and woman within our beautiful.
Mahoning valley should come into our,
fold for we have an abundance of sun,
air and exercise. The real springs
and sources of health with all their
accompanying blessings.

"View the haunts of Nature. The calm
s^ade shall bring a kindred calm, and the
s"weet breeze

That makes the green leaves dance, shall
waft a balm to thy sick beart.
— G. W. Porter, in The American

Golfer.

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

197

So far as that phase of outdoor in-
terest represented by golf is concerned
this is a good appeal. Mr. Porter evi-
dently believes also in what he calls
the "wonderful panorama of miracu-
lous transformations." Golf is good

and Mr. Porter is right that golfing is
not all for the golfer. These other
interests are well represented by The
Guide to Nature, of which every
golfer as well as all other lovers of
outdoors should be a reader.

PoPUL^&STRgNomj

The Heavens for October

BY PROF. S. ALFRED MITCHELL, OF COLUM-
BIA UNIVERSITY.

The scientific world has been electri-
fied to learn of Dr. Frederick A. Cook's
claim that he has reached the point
farthest north, and before this had
ceased being a nine days' wonder or
even the ink was dry on the announcing
press came news that Commander
Robert E. Peary had "nailed the Stars
and Stripes to the North Pole" and in
consequence all eyes have been riveted
on these daring attempts to acquire
fame. The inborn love of discovery
which attracted these men drew Chris-
topher Columbus across the Atlantic,
and also spurred on Henry Hudson in
his several voyages to find the North-
west passage to India. In 1607 Hudson
made an attempt to make his way be-
tween Greenland and Spitzbergen,
reaching as far north as latitude 8o°
23', and the following year he tried in
vain to pass through between Spitz-
bergen and Nova Zembla. In 1609 still
in search of the passage to India in his
small boat, the "Half Moon," he sailed
up the Hudson River as far as Troy,
the Three Hundredth Anniversary of
which we are now celebrating. Though
it is no longer necessary to find a pas-
sage to India, intrepid navigators have
endured untold hardships in trying to
reach the pole of the earth, and the
names of Hansen, Greely, the Duke of
Abruzzi, Commander Peary and Lieut.
Shackleton, stand out indelibly as fine
examples of what determined effort

may do in surmounting difficulties. Be-
yond the desire of conquering where
others have failed, there seems to be no
very great scientific value in these
polar expeditions, except that of solv-
ing the astronomical problem of reach-
ing a point ninety degrees from the
equator.

In Peary's expedition of 1906, he
found that there was an easterly drift
of the polar ice, indicating the absence
of any large bodies of land, and as a
result of this information both Peary
and Cook veered to the west of north
in their quests for the pole. The obser-
vations of both explorers show that
they each took a remarkably straight
course to the pole, and each traveled
very quickly. Cook's astronomical
positions make clear that after having
been two months on his trip subsisting
on tallow, etc., he was able to make
over the rough ice and snow nearly
twenty miles per day for the thirteen
days before discovering the pole, on
April 21, 1908.

The method whereby one's position
is determined on such an expedition,
being a problem of practical astron-
omy, will undoubtedly be of interest to
readers of the Star Map. One natural-
ly supposes that night within the polar
regions, lasting as it does for six
months, must be one which gets
blacker and blacker, with the "darkest
hour just before the dawn" — a poetic
fancy in which there is not a particle
of truth. Two different effects make
the polar nights less black. The first

198

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

of these is that twilight lasts until the
sun is i8° below the horizon. Where
Dr. Cook spent the winter in Annotak,
there was some twilight even at the
very depth of winter. Secondly, the
mid-winter moon would be above the
horizon continuously for two weeks,
from first quarter through the full
moon to third quarter, and those who
have seen the full moon shining on the
snow will know how brilliant that

the final dash like that accomplished
only by Cook and two Esquimos. The
ordinary navigator's sextant would be
too heavy and bulky, and would have
to be replaced by a less cumbersome in-
strument. Peary ordinarily carried a
small sextant, a so-called pocket sex-
tant. The ship's chronometer in its
square case, would give way to a good
pocket time-piece though two or three
small chronometers might be carried.

Oct. Moon Phase:&
Last Qtr.,0ct.6.

New Moon, Oct 14
First Qtr, Oct. ZZ.
Full AAoon. Oct. Z&

Evening SkyMap for October

NO RTH

iPhases _^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ b p p

Columbia

■'*u.Ey v

1 ,»\o,

COMET.

SOUTH

would make the polar night. In addi-
tion to these two, there would be the
brilliant aurora borealis or northern
lights. But temperatures of 83 ° below
Zero Fahrenheit ! Not very many of
us would wish to experience a polar
winter.

In the sledge trip to the pole, a dis-
tance about equalling that from Wash-
ington to Boston, no heavy instruments
could be carried, and especially so in

The sea captain observes the altitude of
the sun by bringing it in contact with
the horizon where sea and sky meet.
But in the frozen north there is no such
horizon, the ice floes are thrown up
into hummocks and hills, and an alti-
tude of the sun above the visible hori-
zon would lead to inaccurate results.
On land explorations, an artificial
horizon is made by pouring mercury
into a little shallow tray. But mercury

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

199

freezes at 400 below zero. A blackened
glass plate made horizontal by means
of spirit levels was used by Cook and
well answered the purpose.

In a polar dash, the latitude is the
important information desired. Lon-
gitude i. e., the difference between local
and Greenwich time is difficult to ob-
tain and inaccurate. Consequently,
latitude must be determined by meth-
ods which will not involve an accurate
knowledge of the time. The sun's
greatest altitude during the twenty-
four hours would give the time of local
noon and latitude from such an obser-
vation could be readily determined ;
and twelve hours later at midnight the
sun's altitude would be least, and lati-
tude could again be determined. When
the greatest and least altitudes were
the same, or in other words, when the
sun did not change in altitude at all
(except for its change in declination in
the sky), then was the latitude 900, and
the north pole was reached. It is readi-
ily seen, the small instruments, the
difficulty of determining the horizon,
and the bitter cold combine together to
make the observations of no great ac-
curacy. Under such conditions it is
questionable whether the position of
the pole could be determined within
ten miles !

After making so many carefully
planned voyages to the north and after
the many years of diligent work look-
ing towards the climax of his life in the
discovery of the pole, it does seem that
the honor of being first to the top of
the world should belong to Peary. It
was Peary's accurate observations that
paved the way for Cook's success, but
it will be very difficult for Peary to
prove that he himself was the first to
reach the pole. In this conviction it
may be said that a polar expedition
would give the freest possible rein to
an explorer willing to sacrifice his per-
sonal honesty to the desire of winning
fame, and the applause of the world.
Such a traveller could readily fix up his
observations, adding a few miles and
a few minutes of arc each day, and if
skilfully done there would not be the
slightest possible danger of detection.
But we cannot imagine a scientist capa-
ble of so demeaning himself to gain a
few short weeks or months of popular-

ity, for an accident might happen, the
deceit might be detected, and he would
then go down to posterity as the great-
est liar of the ages. Cook's veracity
has been sadly impeached, but when
his whole story can be told and his
observations examined, he will be
abundantly able to verify his claim that
he was the first to reach the pole. In
all scientific work it is generally the
date of the announcement which counts
for priority, and as Cook and Peary
made their claims within five days of
each other the honor of discovering
the North Pole must necessarily be a
divided one.

THE PLANETS.

Remarkably little is heard regarding
our near neighbor in space Mars. This
is undoubtedly due to the poor weather
conditions that have been met with
generally throughout Europe and in
general throughout our own country.
For some reason very little detail seems
to be present on Mars. It is now past
its nearest approach to the earth which
occurred September 15. It increases
its distance very slowly, and in Sep-
tember and October are • usually the
months of finest seeing at our obser-
vatories, we may expect important dis-
coveries in the near future. Mars con-
tinues to retrograde till October 2j,
when it becomes stationary. A close
approach of Mars and the moon occurs
on September 30, and again on October
25. These will have an added interest
coming so near the times of the Har-
vest and Hunter's full moons. Saturn
is readily located from its position a
little east of Mars. Venus is becoming
nightly more conspicuous, slowly
drawing farther away from the Sun.

THE CONSTELLATIONS.

As usual the chart shows the sky as
it appears at 9 P. M., on the first of the
month, at 8 o'clock on the 15th and at
7 P. M. at the end. It shows probably
the most barren starry region in the
whole heavens. The four planets,
Venus, Uranus, Mars and Saturn, how-
ever, and fine clear autumn nights
make the skies most interesting, and
the interest is increased as we watch a
few hours later the splendid winter
constellations rising high over the
western horizon.

200

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

SEES HALLEY S COMET.

First Sight Recorded by Professor
Wolff of Heidelberg.

Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 12. — Hal-
ley's comet, for which astronomers the
world over have been eagerly watch-
ing, has been seen, after an absence of
seventy-four years, according to a dis-
patch received to-day at the Harvard
Observatory from Professor Wolff of
Heidelberg.

The sight was obtained on Septem-
ber 11 in right ascension, 6:18:12;
declination, iy° 11' north. It could be
made out only with a large telescope.

The position of the comet at the date
of its re-discovery by Prof. Wolff is
shown in the small section map in the
lower left hand corner above, as it does
not come into view in the East until 1 1
P. M. on Oct. 1st, two hours later than
the main map is arranged for on that
date.

Under the Auspices of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia, Herrran T. Wolf, Editor

Pond Breeding of Goldfishes.

In the May number of The Guide
to Nature, relative to the propagation
of aquarium fishes, a greenhouse ad-
mirably arranged with breeding tanks
and storage basins was shown, the
principal purpose of which is the stor-
age and sale of goldfishes bred in other
localities.

The editor of this section recently
visited these establishments and also
found the hatching ponds so well ar-
ranged that their reproduction here
will be of interest to the general reader
and of marked benefit to those inter-
ested in fish culture.

The greenhouse of Mr. Frank C.
Selak is located near the business cen-
ter of Reading, Pennsylvania, the
hatchery a half mile beyond the village
of Angelica and six miles from the city,
the latter property consisting of what
was two farms comprising one hundred
acres. Nearly parallel to one of the
roads was a marshy stretch of meadow
bordered by trees and underbrush and
depressed between fields of higher ele-
vation, which constitutes a natural,
sheltered valley. A spring run passed
through this valley and the contour of
the land favored the site for ponds in

connection with the country residence
of the owner. Investigation revealed
the existence of more than fifty springs.

The first year, 1904, the lily pond
was made, in which also to keep a few
goldfishes, when it was found they
thrived so well that the following year
three other ponds, Nos. 2, 3 and 4, were
added with the view of breeding fishes
and resulted in obtaining three thou-
sand young goldfishes which were sold
at retail in Reading.

The next year six more ponds were
made and the result was twenty thou-
sand fishes of salable size after the
season, all of which were readily de-
posed of at wholesale and retail. In
1008 ten additional ponds were made,
but the cold weather of the late spring
and early summer prevented the devel-
opment of the young fishes and great
losses occurred, so that at the selling
season the crop was not as good as the
previous year. On account of the ill-
ness of the owner the industry lan-
guished during the present season, and
the result is not very promising, but
in another year, with the present excel-
lent facilities, at least one hundred
thousand common goldfishes should be
bred, and as these command prices at

AQUARIUM.

20I

off? <?.&*/*#

Ifteidtnce

■ ■■■j;..ii^WV^''r,v";-,iT..,

">';;->^''^p?'-'',''lJ''-v:?'?*'^3 F'W,,'"'1£1'!J'

202

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

FIG. 1. PONDS TWO, THREE AND FOUR.

wholesale of three dollars and fifty
cents to eight dollars and fifty cents
per thousand, a satisfactory return for
the considerable investment seems as-
sured.

As indicated by the appended field
sketch, the ponds are located as favored
by the natural contour of the narrow
valley. Some are depressions in the
soil which required little labor in their
construction ; others are partly bor-
dered by earth walls, and many are
surrounded by earth embankments.

From the point of intake to outlet
there is an even drop or decline down
grade to the intersecting roadway, so
that the water flow is by gravity the
whole length of the series of ponds.

The approximate area of the ponds is
the following :

Xo. i Pond 85 by 40 feet

" 2 " 70 " 30 "

"3 " 7o"3o "

" 4 " 90 feet diameter

"5 " 35 " 30 feet

" 6 " /0"40 "

FIG. 2. UPPER PONDS. NUMBERS SEVEN TO SIXTEEN.

AQUARIUM.

203

No. 7 Pond 150 by 60 feet

8 "

9 ....:.

10 "

13 "

14 to 20 Ponds.

120
60

100
60
90

50
60

40
60
60
80
40
35 ft. each

whole arrangement being so exceeding-
ly simple yet eminently effective as to
be worthy of admiration.

Many of the ponds abound in myrio-
phyllum, potamogeton, chara and water
lilies, which offer excellent shelter to
the fishes and some protection from
natural enemies. Shotgun patrol is

FIG. 3. PONDS FOUR AND ONE.

As indicated, many of the ponds con-
tain a number of live springs and all
are fed from the three feeders, the in-
takes indicated by a single line and the
outlets by double lines, designating
the channels and sluices. The outflow
is all returned to the main spring run,
and the water supply is confined in dug
ditches controlled by a simple but
effective system of flood gates. Each
of the feeders would contain about two
feet width of water after an average
rainfall and the spring run four or five
feet.

The sloping bottoms of the ponds
permit of any depth of water from a
few inches to two or three feet, the

also maintained, but the winged ene-
mies are so wary that another simpler
method of protection is more effective.
Around all the ponds posts have been
erected upon which muskrat traps are
fastened which capture kingfishers,
shikepokes, shrikes and herons, while
the shotgun and rifle take care of musk-
rats, snakes and frogs.

It is the intention of the owner to
also extensively breed the finer toy
varieties of the goldfish, spawning and
hatching them in his greenhouse and
then transferring them to the ponds
where they will sooner acquire salable
size. At present they are reared in the
greenhouse tanks.

204

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The Household Aquarium and Its
Inmates and Management.

Part I.
The keeping of an aquarium with
its living plant and animal inmates is
an esthetic pleasure not equalled by-
other easily obtained and inexpensive
means. Land plants and animals are
interesting, but they do not offer the
continual fascination of this glimpse of
fluvial life, which when properly ar-
ranged is a beautiful, ever-varying liv-
ing picture and the handsomest orna-
ment of the household.

Success with the aquarium depends
upon an understanding of the simple
principles of aquatic existence, most
failures being due to a lack of this
knowledge. It is really the pond or
pool in miniature, and to achieve suc-
cess these conditions must be repro-
duced.

Only in comparatively recent times
has this been understood. In 1833
Priestly discovered that growing plants
gave off oxygen ; in 1844 Ward suc-
ceeded in keeping fishes together with
plants in Stillwater aquaria ; in 1850
Warrington published his observations
on the" inter-relation of vegetal and
animal life; and in 1856 Gosse estab-
lished the necessity of scavengers, and
so solved the problem of the properly-
balanced or self-sustaining aquarium.

In the breathing of the aquatic fauna
a considerable quantity of air is ab-
sorbed, required for the oxidation of
the waste carbonaceous matter, pro-
ducing carbonic acid gas; which, in the
presence of sunlight, is absorbed by
the plants, the contained carbon being
required to add to their solid structure
and the thus purified oxygen liberated
into the water to sustain the living
creatures. By this double action of
plants and animals an almost perfect
balance is sustained, the animals dimin-
ishing the oxygen and adding to the
carbonic acid gas, and the plants
diminishing the carbonic acid gas and
adding to the oxygen.

Hence if plant and animal life is
present in correct proportion, the qual-
ity of the water is only disturbed by
the presence of other elements pro-
duced by the decomposition of organic

matter, dead animals, decaying plants,
excrement and uneaten food ; and to
check this deleterious change molluscs
and other scavengers are required.
With this necessary law of aquatic ex-
istence in mind, together with careful
feeding and good daylight, nearly the
whole difficulties of aquarium keeping
are solved.

Artificial aeration for the fresh-
water aquarium is not required in the
presence of a vigorous plant growth,
but marine plants are lower forms, the
Cryptogams, all inferior generators of
oxygen, and some such means is im-
perative for the marine or salt-water
aquarium.

In establishing an aquarium any
water-tight receptacle will serve, but
the larger its contents the better will be
the results. Its form should be such
as to admit of large surface aeration.
Glass receptacles have the advantage
that their contents may be more easily
observed, but the ordinary fish globes
are the worst of all forms. All-glass
vessels are too liable to fracture by the
pressure of the water, by expansion and
contraction, and by accidents. The
brass or iron framed glass aquarium
with slate bottom is the best and its
form should be that of a double cube,
which for the novice may be 32 inches
long, 16 inches wide, and 16 inches
high, and for the experienced aquariist
48 by 24 by 20 inches or larger.

It should be placed upon a table or
stand facing either a northern or north-
eastern light in the summer and in the
winter where it will receive a few hours
of the morning sunlight. The light
should be principally on the surface of
the water and be such that it will not
materially change the water tempera-
ture. Too strong is as injurious as too
little light.

Any drinking water will serve for the
fresh-water aquarium, as the fishes
usually kept are those of the pond or
slow-flowing stream, but for those of
cold-water brooks attention must be
given to both its character and temper-
ature. This will be treated of here-
after.

In installing an aquarium the first
important consideration is the proper

AQUARIUM.

205

aquatic plants. None of fresh water is
strictly aquatic and always has its foli-
age submerged, as during the flowering
season all develop either surface-float-
ing or emersed leaves and blossoms;
but those whose habit is to remain sub-
merged at other times are the best
liberators of oxygen ; and, except for
ornamental purposes, should be given
the preference in the aquarium. The
more generally distributed or easily
obtainable of these, in the order in
which they best fulfill their purpose,
are the ribbon-leaved arrowheads,
Sagittaria iiatans and 5". sinensis; the
watefshield or fanworth, Cabomba caro-
liniana and C. rosaefolia; the ditchmoss,
Anacharis canadensis and the cultivated
A. canadensis gigdntea; the eel or tape-
grass, Vallisneria spiralis; the water-mil-
foil, Myriophyllum spicatum and the near-
ly related parrot's feather or Proserpin-
aca. .1/. proserpinacoides ; the swamp-
loosestrife, Ludwigia palustris and L.
glandulosa, together with the handsomest
tropical species L. mulerttii; the stone-
worts, Nitella gracilis and Chara gyvn-
nopus; and the less desirable but
ornamental hornwort (Ccratophylittm) ,
willowmoss (Fontinalis), riverweed
(Pota)iiogeton) , starwort ( Callitrichc) ,
bladderwort (Utricularia) , and many
other partially submerged or floating
plants which add beauty and attraction
to the aquarium. These will be more
fully described in a later article.

Next to plants scavengers should have
the attention of the aquariist, as success
largely depends upon their efficiency in
disposing of the refuse and offal.

The scavengers of the freshwater
aquarium are tadpoles, snails and mus-
sels. Frog tadpoles retain their larval
form longer than toads ; when either
develop legs and assume the adult form
they subsist on live food and are no
longer of use in the aquarium. Of the
freshwater snails four species best serve
as scavengers, the ramshorn snail, Plan-
orbis trivolvis and P. companulatits, the
Potomac snail, Viviparus viri par us, the
transparent African snail, Lynmaae auri-
cularia and the Japanese snail, V. mal-
leatus, each differing somewhat in pre-
ferred diet. If these cannot be obtained
any other freshwater snails which will
not destroy the plants may be introduced.

Of the freshwater mussels any taken
from Stillwater will serve, but those of
the genera Lampsilus and Margaritina
survive the longest in the aquarium.

Sand, small pebbles and sod soil are
also required, into which to root the
plants. Sea sand, the smaller pebbles
known as "grit" and clean turf taken im-
mediately under the roots of lawn grass
are generally used.

These materials at hand, only the fishes
still remain to be described and this will
be done later ; it is now in order to
arrange the aquarium, which should be
established a week or two before fishes
are introduced.

The inside of the aquarium should be
cleaned with whiting for the glass and
salt water for the slate bottom, thorough-
ly rinsed and set into position. Sagit-
taria, Cabomba, Anacharis, Myriophyl-
lum. Proserpinaca and Nitella may be
set directly into the sand or pebbles, but
Vallisneria, Ludwigia and Potamogeton
thrive best when planted in shallow pots
or dishes into which turf is placed and
covered with pebbles. A layer of sand
two-inches thick should first be put into
the aquarium and then the plants neatlv
set into it, arranging them on the three
si iles towards the light and leaving an
open space on the inner side towards the
room, for the living inmates to disport
themselves. Then sand, pots etc. should
be covered with an inch thickness of
grit, placed so that the side facing the
room is of slightly lower level than the
others, that the humus (refuse) may
there collect for easy cleaning.

When the plants are arranged, they
should be covered with wrapping paper
upon which the water may be slowly
poured so as not to disturb the contents
and then the aquarium filled to the top.
Tadooles, snails and mussels should be
put in at once and the aquarium left un-
disturbed until the water is clear, the
plants rooted and growing, the molluscs
and tad"oVs acclimated and active, and
then only the fishes introduced.

For a t,2 by 16 by 16 inches aquarium,
having a capacity of 32 gallons of water,
six tadpoles, ten or twelve snails and two
mussels would be required ; for smaller
aquaria proportionate^ less.

(Continued in our following number).

206

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Managing Goldfish in Summer.

The managing editor of The Guide to
Nature, had occasion to pass through
Philadelphia, and took the opportunity
to call on some members of the Aquar-
ium Society. A great many practi-
cal points were brought out and they can
probably best be given to our readers in
the form of the interviews as they actu-
ally took place.

The first call was on Mr. William T.
Innes, Jr., Secretary of the Aquarium
Society. The accompanying illustration
shows his general plan of keeping his
fish during the summer. His only
available space is in a narrow side alley,
but the conditions here are all that could
be desired in a city location.

Q. Is this a satisfactory light for
your purposes ?

A. Yes, entirely so. I get about three
quarters of an hour of morning sun,
and a good overhead light the rest of
the day. When one has a mixed variety
of plants this is about an ideal condi-
tion. It is particularly suited for Sagit-
taria.

O. Is there much dust in the city air
that settles on the water ?

A. Yes, quite a little — partly • from
smoke and partly from pollen off the
vines. I draw it off with a piece of news-
paper just the width of the surface of
the water. Lay the paper flat on the
water and draw quickly across. Clean-
ing the surface this way once a day is
satisfactory at most seasons but when the
pollen is falling very heavily from the
creeper vines, I cover over everything
with a strip of Organdie a yard wide
and the whole length of the side yard,
weighting it down on the edges with
little lead buttons, such as are made to
use in ladies' skirts. By keeping the
handles of the tubs in a straight line
and connecting with a string it supports
the cloth from falling into the water.

Q. Why do you use tubs instead of
aquaria ?

A. Fish thrive much better in a tub
or any vessel having opaque sides. You
see in natural conditions the fish only
gets top light, and the light coming
through the sides of an aquarium while
pretty for us to look at is not natural to
the fish. In fact, some of the most

highly developed fancy fish will die if
taken out of a tub or tank and put into
an aquarium. Of course it is not practi-
cal to have many tubs in a residence dur-
ing the winter, but by getting the fish
into good strong condition during the
summer season, they generally manage
to pull through until the next spring.

WILLIAM T. INNES, JR., AT WORK WITH HIS
GOLDFISH IN TUBS, PANS, ETC.

Q. I notice you have your Sagittaria
in small pots in the tubs. Why is this ?

A. It is principally for convenience.
These plants can be very readily lifted
out and the bottom water of the tub
siphoned off ; also the plants are what is
known as the Giant Sagittaria. By
keeping them in small pots they are pre-
vented from getting; too large. Of course
some people like them as large as possi-
ble. This depends upon how much room
you have ; it is also a matter of taste.

Q. You speak of siphoning off the
bottom of the tub. How do you do this?

A. By filling a three-foot piece of
half inch rubber tubing with water, clos-
ing both ends with the fingers, placing
one end in the tub the other at a point
lower than the surface of the water, and
then removing the fingers. The water
will then flow out freely. Move the end

AQUARIUM.

207

of the hose around the bottom of the tub,
picking up whatever dirt you can see.
It is necessary to use great care not to
draw in any small fish. Nearly every
aquariist in spite of care has at some
time drawn a valuable young fish
through the hose. This is very apt to
be fatal to the fish.

Q. Have you any other way of keep-
ing the aquarium clean ?

A. There are several helps, all of
which should be used. The plant known
as willow moss or Fontinalis is very use-
ful. This plant seems to collect the dirt
in and about itself and can be lifted out
and washed off. It can then be returned
to the aquarium. Common river mussels
are of advantage to introduce into an
aquarium. They almost constantly draw
in and expel the water, taking out from
it as their food the finely suspended or-
ganic matter. Then the snails are indis-
pensable. The best kinds are the Cape
Fear river ramshorn snail, the Japanese
snail, and the African snail.

O. Which snail do you consider the
best?

A. My own experience favors the
ramshorn. They clean the sides very
closely, will attack dead plant or animal
life, and will not injure living plant life.
They seem never to stop work. The
Japanese snail is also very good, but I
do not think they clean quite as closely
as the ramshorn and they stay in the
sand at certain seasons.

Q. What seasons are these?

A. Principally breeding time. The
Japanese snail is peculiar in that the eggs
are hatched out within the shell of the
mother, when they emerge they are quite
a fair size, say about as large as a pea.
This is quite an advantage because they
are too large for the fish to eat. Where
snails are hatched out on the plants or
sides of the aquarium, they are very
small and are quite a delicacy to the fish.
The African snail is very active and
quite pretty, but very short lived. It is
a serious matter having snails die and
not know about it. They foul the water
very quickly.

Q. Do you change the water fre-
quently?

A. Xo, I never change it except to

make up for evaporation and what dirty
water is occasionally drawn off.

Q. What kind of tubs do you prefer?

A. Old wooden tubs are the best.
New wooden tubs should have running
water in them for at least a week. They
better support the growth of algae or
"green moss" as it is called. This puri-
fies the water and helps the fish. Paper
mache tubs are also very good.

Q. What plants do you consider to
be the best oxygenators?

A. Sagittaria or Anacharis. Lud-
wegia is very popular and looks pretty in
an aquarium but is a poor oxygenator,
unless very well started. It does best
in pots with soil.

Q. In potting plants what kind of
soil do you use?

A. Any garden soil that is sweet. I
fill the pot about four fifths with earth
and fill the rest with sand. This keeps
the fish from stirring up the earth and
making the water muddy.

O. What do you give the fish as their
principal article for food?

A. For the fish over three months
old, boiled oatmeal just as it comes off
the breakfast table. To the fish that
are hatched the present year, I give so
much that it takes nearly all day for them
to eat it. If I were home I should prefer
giving them two feedings not quite as
large, but this is out of the question for
most amateurs. It is not just the best
thing to have so much food in the water
for so long a time. The fish over a year
old get just as much as they can eat at
one time, that is, they get one good meal
a day. The fish under three months of
age are fed live daphnia, which I collect
in still water ponds at the outskirts of
the city, where there is likely to be de-
composing vegetable or animal matter.

O. Do any undesirable insects get col-
lected with the daphina?

A. Yes indeed. That is one of the
greatest difficulties we have to contend
with. In this vicinity our principal
troubles come from what are known as
water-boatmen and tiger beetle larvae.
The larvae of the dragon fly and other
larvae are also fatal to young fish,
but I personally have found very few of
them in my tanks.

208

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Q. Do you feed daphnia to the
youngest fish?

A. Yes, but I strain it through a
brass wire cloth so that only the small-
est come through. This cloth can be had
in the larger wire goods houses and in
mesh is a little too fine for a small pin
to go through it. (Mr. Innes has this
wire cloth soldered into the bottom of
what was a small round tin pail. This pail
is shown in the illustration. — E. F. B.)

Q. I suppose you give the larger
daphnia to the larger fish?

A. Yes, that is the idea. As soon as
they are large enough to eat the full size
daphnia, I give them all they can pos-
sibly eat of this food until they are about
three months old. I also give a little to
all of the larger fish if I can spare it.
Some enthusiasts collect daphnia every
day and feed their large fish nothing else
all summer. However, this is quite a
contract and I find that my fish do very
well on my system of running things.

Q. When do you bring the fish in
the house?

A. The younger ones about the fif-
teenth of September. Of course this
applies to Philadelphia, allowance
must be made for other locations. Many
young fish receive a permanent setback
by being out doors in cool September
nights. " This is also true of the older
fish of the highly bred varieties. I do
not Ike to have the water go below 62
degrees for them. The larger fish may
stay out a little later but September is
the best time to plant and start the house
aquarium.

Habits and Breeding of the Paradise
Fish.

BY JOSEPH F. HEILMAX, VICE-PRESIDENT
PHILADELPHIA AQUARIUM SOCIETY.

There are several varieties of the
macropode or Paradise fish which I
have kept in aquaria and successfully
bred.

The common or dwarf Paradise is
not as gaudy as the larger domesti-
cated three and one-half to four
inches long M. viridi-auratus, and
is striped with red and brown,
not banded ; nor has it the very
long fin development of the latter
fish. Their habits and methods of

procreation are similar however, and
the following description would apply
to either or both.

I have fully come to the conclusion
that the male fish has the power of
changing his colors at will, as when
closely observed it will be noticed that
the beautiful colorings will vary in
intensity and hue over the body, es-
pecially if the fish is excited or in a
combative mood. The colors of the

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PARADISE FISH IN AN AQUARIUM.
Photographed by L. B. Spencer.

female fish, which are brown with olive
spots at other times, change to a light
drab or steel-grey during the spawning
period, but at no time has she much
power of changing her hues, as does
the male fish.

The Paradise fish is of a quiet na-
ture when undisturbed, contented to
float lazily in the water, seemingly
without moving a fin, but always alert
and watching for anything alive that
may come his way. When disturbed
or excited he will dart about with
great rapidity and pounce upon what-
ever will serve as food or suggest it-
self as an enemy. During the mating
and spawning season he is very vicious
and will even leap out of the water,
snapping his jaws at any object that
may be pointed at him and producing
a sound like the closing of the jaws of
a steel trap.

AQUARIUM.

209

The fish is a good feeder preferring
live food, either the small water crus-
taceans or earthworms, and will leap
out of the water a distance of several
inches for a worm held between the
fingers above the water surface of the
aquarium ; or in the water will take
the food with a sudden darting move-
ment most interesting to watch.

At the time of spawning the male
will deliberately select a female and
with her seek a secluded section of the
aquarium to build the nest, and woe
betide any other fish that has the
temerity to usurp his mate or to come
within the bounds of his chosen terri-
tory.

The nest is built on the surface of
the water and it is the male that per-
forms this duty. From the mouth he
expels air bubbles covered with a gela-
tinous substance, which are carefully
clustered together to form a floating
fairy nest. As soon as the eggs are
deposited by the female and fertilized
by the male, he carefully gathers and
deposits them in the nest of bubbles
and guards them until they hatch,
which takes about three days, during
which time not even the female is per-
mitted to approach.

The spawning takes place several
times during the summer. I have
found it advisable to remove the fe-
male after each spawning, as she de-
velops cannibalistic tendencies, as is
also the case with some males, but
this more usually after the young fry
has reached some size and begins to
take up an independent existence.

My best success in rearing these
fishes is by a method of my own devis-
ing, which is taking away the spawn
directly after the male deposits it in
the nest. This I do by the use of a
large spoon or ladle, carefully skim-
ming the nest from the water surface
and depositing it into another previ-
ously prepared receptacle. By this
means I have been successful in hatch-
ing and maturing 50 per cent, more
young fishes than by leaving the male
to take charge of the nest and protect
the young.

For a period of 8 or 10 days the
newly hatched fry do not require any
food ; then they will take very small

Daphnia (tiny freshwater crustaceans)
or rice flour sprinkled on the water
surface, but discretion must be used
in feeding the latter, as too much flour
may foul the water and kill the fish.

The Paradise fish is easy to keep in
the household aquarium. I have ma-
tured fifty fish in a five gallon bell jar;
and as they are air-breathers no such
careful watch of the water conditions
is necessary as with the fine breeds of
the goldfish.

Care must be exercised that the
•fishes may not leap out of the contain-
ers. It is advisable to cover the top
with a piece of glass or small-meshed
wire netting. Leaping seems to be a
characteristic of the fish, but whether
it is due to efforts to get at insects that
may hover over the aquarium, or to
restlessness or to unsatisfactory water
conditions I have not been enabled
fully to determine ; but it may be any
of these or due to a migrating instinct.

The Paradise fish is a good aquarium
scavenger. It will clean out all insects
and worms that would breed in aqua-
ria in which goldfishes alone are kept.
I have had aquaria infested with roti-
fera to an extent that they were liter-
ally filled with them. When the gold-
fishes were removed and a half dozen
Paradise fishes substituted, in a few
days every trace of them had disap-
peared, after which I returned the
goldfishes and had no further trouble
from that source. This has also been
done to dispose of the objectionable
tubicolous worms and hydra.

Large Paradise fishes cannot be kept
with goldfishes, but small ones, intro-
duced when quite young, are beneficial
as scavengers and I greatly prefer
them to tadpoles, as they better keep
the aquarium clean of insects and some
forms of parasites. It is not well, how-
ever, to introduce those which have
attained a length of one inch or over,
not previously accustomed to gold-
fishes, as then there is likelihood of
their molesting the slow-moving gold-
fishes, tearing their fins and tails.

The Gourami is larger than the Par-
adise fish with a heavy-set body. In
the breeding season the beautiful iri-
descent colors of the male surpass

2IO

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

those of the Paradise. They have only
recently been introduced and I have
not yet had opportunity to give them
much study, nor can I at this time
give a justifiable description of all their
habits, but will do so at some not dis-
tant future time.

I would be pleased to give any fur-
ther information on the breeding and
rearing of the Paradise fish, if so de-
sired.

The "Care" of All-Glass Aquaria.

BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, SOUND BEACH,
CONNECTICUT.

The best way to care for glass tubs or
cylindrical aquaria ( and also glass
globes) is to leave them tenderly without
a regret at non-possession on the shelves
of the dealer. This first paragraph was
written last.

* ;i: * ■£ ~'fi $s ^ ^

I had an experience. I received sev-
eral by freight, all well packed in straw
and in perfect condition. I placed them
on a table, not even washing them. The
next day one was hopelessly cracked or
at least so badly cracked that it is useless
for its prime purpose, but may be partly
filled with gravel or earth and "do" for a
vivarium or terrarium. The next day
along comes a professor, biological pro-
fessor of extended experience, and re-
marks :

"That's the way they go. We lost
dozens of them and wondered why. We
supposed there was a certain percentage
of mortality and disappointment sure to
occur. So there may be, but one day, by
chance, T discovered the cause of most of
the breakages. The assistant girl had
washed several and set them to dry in a
row. I was seated at a desk not far
away. Snap, snap, went two of them
plmost together. There had been a sus-
picion of a theory in my mind that a
cylindrical aquarium must be wholly wet
or wholly -Vy. 1 went to the two that
ItmI broken nnd found them dry on one
side and still wet on the side where the
cracking began. To prove the truth of
my theory, 1 took several from stock
and put them in a row on a table. T
moistened one side with a damp cloth.
a^d sure enough these went to pieces.
We saved the others by at once wining
dry the wetted parts. And look." he

said, pointing to my broken aquarium,
"that further verifies my theory. See
where the water trickled along the bench
from the dripping pet cock and wet one
edge of the bottom. It would have been
saved if you had only put in a little
water in the aquarium ; even just enough
to cover the bottom would have been all
right for the uneven drying or wetting
seems not to be disastrous if the other
side is all wet, due to the nneven ex-
pansion and contraction."

"Simplicity itself," I said, and then I
thought all sorts of bad things (perhaps
let out a word or two) about the dealers
and experts who had not told me about
this little trick. And then I thought, as
I had lost several in the past ten years,
why hadn't I generalized and theorized
and deduced an explanation. \ too
might have had credit for a little insight
into causes and effects.
* * * * * * * *

The next morning I starter! to "fit
up." I took a perfectly sound cylindrical
jar of the largest size in the lot. It wa-3
perfectly dry on the outside, but, a la
the professor, had been filled the day be-
fore with water to the depth of about
two inches. "Just enough to keep it
from breaking." I took it into the best
room in the house, placed it on a choice
ornamental mat on a table by the window
in the sunlight. I carefully arranged grit,
pebbles and plants, and then stepped back
to the rear of the room to admire the
effect. I left the room. I soon returned.
What, what! What's the matter? It's
dripping. Must be a leak or perhaps a
little water spilt where I set it. I took
hold of the top to move it. W-h-i-sh-h,
sl-u-s-h, sm-as-h, rush ; a deluge. I and
the floor — everything. The top parted
company with the base. Then I cleaned
uw Oh, what a mess! It was a job. no
mistake. ( )h, what a floor ; what a room !
Oh! 1 'Mdn't realize that there was a
barrel of water and a wheelbarrow load
of grit in that aquarium. Then I sat
down to think about it. In the midst of
my meditations a voice inquired solicit-
ously. "What's the matter?"

"( )h, nothing much. Just soliloquiz-
ing on a story I read of a man who
trained a son in strictest of discipline,
and the son went to the bad. Another
man thought to profit by that example.

AQUARIUM.

211

His son was given free rein and, well,

that son went to the worse."

Then I went to my desk and wrote the

first paragraph of this article.

* * * * * * * *

(Cylinders and globes are made of
soft white glass that has the habit of
considerable expens-jon and contrac-
tion, and when not most carefullly
annealed will break from very slight
causes. The heat of the sun on
one side will produce sufficient expan-
sion to cause* explosion ; setting on a
hard or uneven surface will cause crack-
ing and the weight and pressure of the

contents breaking, and moving without
lifting them clear will cause a deluge. A
scratch with a nail not over one inch
long so weakened a twenty inch cylinder
that it broke within an hour.

Fish globes are a crime, and all-glass
cylinders a curse. 'Ware free of them.
Use only metal-framed aquaria; they are
the neatest, strongest and best forms
f( >r their contents. Globes suffocate fish ;
cylinders break from very slight causes.

I wish I could have a national law
passed to imprison every dealer for life
who sold a torture chamber for fishes —
a fish globe!— H. T. W.)

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MINERALOGY

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Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

Selenite.

Selenite is one of the varieties of
gypsum, a mineral that is used princi-
pally in the manufacture of plaster of
Paris and like products. It is a sulphate
of lime ; that is, it is a compound of sul-
phur and lime with some water. It is

found in extensive deposits in New
York, ( )hio, Illinois, Virginia, Tennes-
see and Arkansas, and sparingly in a
number of other states. It is also found
in Nova Scotia and in most foreign
countries.

It occurs generally in transparent,
doubly terminated crystals, sometimes
singly and at other ■ times in groups.
Fig. i shows some of the crystals and
groups. Fig. 2 shows the interior of a
small selenite cave found in Wayne
County, Utah. It is thirty-five feet
long, ten feet broad and twenty feet
high. The whole interior was filled
with transparent selenite crystals of
immense size. One group of crystals
taken from this cave weighed six hun-
dred pounds. It was the finest deposit
of selenite ever found. Over twenty
tons of fine crystals were taken out and
shipped to Salt Lake City.

FIG. 1. SELENITE CRYSTALS.

Some Curious Boulders.

Our first insight into mineralogy is
very often from finding or observing
some curious pebbles or boulders while
on nature strolls through the country.

212

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

These are masses of rock that have
been detached and rolled around by
nature, generally by brooks or rivers,

l "<*

FIG. 2. INTERIOR OF A SELENITE CAVE.

until their rough edges have been
rounded off, when they are called peb-
bles if small and boulders if large. The
picture given herewith is a boulder
composed of two minerals, giving it a
quite peculiar appearance. The white
streaks are veins of quartz and the
dark parts are composed of sandstone.
The white pebbles so often gathered
from beaches are simply clear quartz.
At some of the beaches visited by tour-
ists the demand for these clear pebbles
is so great that they are made artifi-
cially by putting some pieces of clear

quartz into a receptacle along with
some sand and this is then closed up
and revolved until the pieces become
rounded, when they are sold to the
tourists as natural pebbles and are
often cut and mounted, as watch
charms or other ornaments.

THE BOULDER COMPOSED OF QUARTZ AND
SANDSTONE.

Bronx Tourmalines

BY EDWIN W. HUMPHREYS, NEW YORK
CITY

Tourmaline is one of the most beauti-
ful and attractive as wefl as one of the
commonest minerals found in the Bor-
ough of the Bronx, Xew York City.
While it has not the beauty of color
or transparency that the varieties found
in Maine and California have, it does
have that perfection of form which
gives so much interest to good crys-
tals of even the commonest of minerals.
Instead of being brilliantly colored red,
green or yellow as are tourmalines of
many other localities, the Bronx speci-
mens are modestly colored, being coal
or pitch black and brown. At some lo-
calities, moreover, there are found tour-
malines whose extremities are of dif-
ferent colors, one end, for example,
being red and the other green or some
other color. This phenomena ao'oarent-
lv does not occur among the Bronx speci-
mens, which in so far as I have seen
them, always of a uniform color.
Neither the black nor the brown is
transparent ; the nearest approach to it
being in the brown variety which is
slightly translucent. Crystals of the lat-
ter are sometimes curved.

Specimens of the black tourmaline are
often of great beauty. I remember find-
ing one. in particular, in which a mass of
the pinkish or flesh-colored feldspar so
common in the pegmatite dikes formed
the background for a fine, slender, coal
black crystal. These black crystals vary
greatly in size, some being hairlike and
a fraction of an inch in length, while
others are several inches across and
many inches long. Frequently the ter-
mination planes are very well developed.
Occasionally, the crystals are cracked
across and the interstices filled with
quartz or mica, at other times plates of
mica are apparently included within the
crystal itself. This condition can only be
found, however, by breaking the crys-

MINERALOGY.

213

tal open, when the mica is seen to he so
arranged that the plates are parallel to
the length of the crystal. In such speci-
mens it seems as if the tourmaline had
either crystallized after the mica and so
had included some of it within itself or
that both had crystallized at the same in-
stant. The inclusion of the tourmaline
in the feldspar spoken of before admits
of the same inferences.

Usually this mineral is found in indi-
vidual crystals of varying size, but it
sometimes occurs in aggregates of crys-
tals which radiate from a common center
forming the so-called radiating tourma-
line. Both the brown and the black are
found exhibiting this arrangement.

As to distribution, tourmaline may be
found in almost any part of the Bronx,
though the brown seems to be limited to
the limestone formation at Kingsbridge,
for despite the fact that I have examined
much limestone in other parts of the
Bronx I have never been able to find it.
The black, however, is much more com-

BLACK TOURMALINE FOUND IN XEW YORK
CITY BY MR. WILLIAM XIVEN AND
NOW ON EXHIBITION IN THE AMERI-
CAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HIS-
TORY.

mon and can be found associated with all
the rock formations of the Bronx except
the Inwood limestone in which I have
never found it. The best places to look
for tourmaline are in those excavations

in which a pegmatite dike has been cut
through, and as these are found extend-
ing through the rock formation almost
everywhere in the Bronx, the distribu-
tion of the mineral is naturally very wide.
Some of the exact localities at which it
has been found are the following: Clin-
ton Ave. and 180th St. ; Webster Ave.
near Wendover Ave., radiating black
tourmaline; Westchester Ave. near the
Bronx River, very fine specimens ; Morris
Park Ave. and White Plains Road and
at other points along this avenue ; at the
entrance to Bronx Park on Crotona Ave. ;
in a rock dump at Southern Boulevard
and 173rd St. These are only a few of
the many places at which this mineral
has been found.

If one is interested in the collection
of minerals, the present is the time to
collect in this Borough. While the
rapid building up of this section makes
it now a good collecting ground, yet it
will ultimately render the gathering of
minerals and other natural objects as
difficult as it is in the Borough of Man-
hattan.

Note. — Some years ago I found a needle
crystal of transparent green tourmaline in pure
white limestone and also a part of a crystal not
quite as large in circumference as a lead pencil,
nf green tourmaline with a pink center, at
Kingsbridge Ship Canal. — Editor.

Minerals of New Hampshire.

BY MISS KATE A. JONES, GRANTHAM, NEW
HAMPSHIRE.

Grantham, New Hampshire, and ad-
joining towns are quite rich in geological
specimens which are found not only on
the mountains but in the granite ledges
which stretch for miles along the base of
the hills.

During one of my walks I found fine
soecimens of quartz crystals in chalced-
ony while in the steeo sides of the
ledges were pockets lined with sparkling
crystals. Among these one finds smoky
quartz and the yellow or topaz crystals ;
others show delicate tints of amethyst,
red and green.

A friend recently found some pockets
filled with small, needle-like crystals,
clear and perfect. Other cavities con-
tained garnets ; from one of these he
gathered one hundred garnets of various
sizes.

214

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

One of our mountains always has the
appearance of being- snow covered be-
cause of the pure white quartz , polished
by the storms of ages, which crowns its
summit. Here beautiful crystals are
found.

At Grafton, Xew Hampshire, some of
the largest crystals known to geologists
are found. These crystals are of beryl.
One, which I have seen, is in the Mu-
seum of Natural History in Boston,
Massachusetts. Its weight is two and
one-quarter tons. Another, found at the
same place, is supposed to be the largest
crystal in the world. Its weight is esti-
mated to be not less than five tons. It is
a perfect six-sided prism, having a cir-
cumference of twelve feet. Three weeks'
labor by two men was required to ex-
pose this "giant of the mineral king-
dom."

In the same town one finds mica, rose,
smoky and amethyst quartz, staurolites
and tourmalines.

At Lebanon, New Hampshire, is a
mine where silver is found. A gentle-
man who had been interested in the gold
mines of California, while travelling
through the mountains of New Hamp-
shire, discovered gold in the bed of a
little stream at Enfield, New Hampshire.
The more earnestly we strive to search
out nature's secrets, the more deeply we
are impressed by the vastness, the beauty
and the richness of God's creations,
while often we are led to exclaim, "How
wonderful are all His Works !"

hearts of the young a love for and a
desire to know more of the wonders
and beauties of Mother Earth.

A Magnificent Gift.

( hie of our subscribers, Professor H.
A. Green of Tryon, North Carolina, has
presented to his native town, for the
use of the schools, his valuable collec-
tion which besides representing an
outlay of several thousands of dollars
is also the work of his whole life. It
comprises thirteen hundred specimens
of minerals, about four hundred and
fifty fossils, over five hundred and fifty
shells, besides sponges, corals, etc.. to-
gether with an herbarium of over four
thousand plants, twelve hundred of
which are seaweeds and two thousand
lichens.

YVe. in conjunction with all other
lovers of nature, extend him our hearty
thanks for his efforts to instill into the

A Few More Incidents.

BY WILLIAM C. BANKS, STAMFORD, CON-
NECTICUT.

The gaining of a little practical
knowledge of mineralogy and geology
is by no means a waste of effort. When
one of the tunnels under the East River
was being constructed, one of the engi-
neers reporting on the rocks excavated
found what he reported as so much de-
composed rock. He sent samples to a
mutual friend who was of the opinion
that it was soapstone, and passed it
along to me. It proved to be merely a
very compact blue, and brown and
white mottled clay. A lithomarge to
be precise. Among the samples was a
piece of white dolomite, which he cor-
rectly guessed was limestone, and
hoped he was right, beside these a bit
of gneiss. The point is this, the merest
bit of accurate instruction in mineral-
ogy and lithology, would have given
this man all the knowledge concerning
these things that he is likely to need in
his profession. Because of the lack of
it he is inconvenienced and obliged to
have recourse to another. One day a
friend was showing me some minerals,
among the rest was one which he as-
sured me was white sulphur, from
Vesuvius. Well, it was, together with
some lime and water, it was a fine twin
Selenite about three inches in length. I
got on my knees, figuratively speaking,
but he was not amenable to reason.
However, he had another selenite, a
large Kansas crystal which he offered
to break in two and go halves with me.
I declined with thanks, so he gave it to
me entire. I still have it. Also he had
a few other nice things which he should
be deprived of, having no true apprecia-
tion of their worth and meaning. His
specialty is antiques — also postage
stamps.

One day I wras roaming among the
hills with a friend, in search of rocks
and scenery, when we encountered a
friend of his who was addicted to an-
tiques, chinaware, and such like. In
the course of our conversation my
friend mentioned the fact that I was

ENTOMOLOGY.

215

interested more in minerals. Huh ! was
the reply, some men would collect any-
thing'. Of course I felt properly abased.
J thought his sense of courtesy posi-
tively unique, I hope it is.

One day I was looking over the col-
lections of an old gentleman who had
been an instructor in one of the English
universities. He had a great many in-
teresting things. Among them large
crystals of quartz, from Brazil, enclos-
ing clay; mud crystals he called them.

A gift he told us from Louis Agassiz.
It was an extensive and a fine collection
right through the list, but the bright
particular star was a beautiful suite of
English Fluors, mostly in shapely
groups of blue purple, greens and yel-
lows. Oh me! Oh my! After we had
exhausted our stock of superlatives he
unfolded his tale of woe. "Yes," he
said, "they are beautiful, I have never
seen better ; but people tell me they are
only good to shy at cats."

J>5 :^;I»•It■«I»^;'i•,•ItiIt,iI•.,iit•i5'"it,'^itJit■;i••5il*it,■;-*

HI ENTOMOLOGY

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An Ant's Nest that is Easy to Make.

BY ELLIOT R. DOWNING, PH. D., THE

NORTHERN STATE NORMAL SCHOOL,

MARQUETTE, MICH.

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; con-
sider her ways, and be wise : which
having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
provideth her meat in the summer, and
gathereth her food in the harvest."

Ever since the days of King Solo-
mon, at least, the ant has been prover-
bial for her interesting ways, a fit ob-
ject for study and even worthy of em-
ulation. The nest described here is
easy to make and yet is so well adapt-
ed to its purpose that even children
may keep a colony of ants in it, ob-
serving them constantly, for many
months. It has been so successful an
aid to the study of this interesting
little animal in my nature study classes
that I am induced to write about it, in
the hopes that others, who do not
know of it, may add to their pleasure.
The idea is not original with me ; I
learned the method of construction
and care of the inmates from Miss A.
M. Eielde and afterwards saw several
of her articles ; others may not have
been as fortunate, so the idea is passed
on.

Take a piece of glass about five by
ten inches as the foundation for the

nest ; the exact size is immaterial, but
this is convenient for a two chambered
nest. Now cut some strips of glass a
half inch wide ; four of them, ten inches
long, four, three and a half inches and
two four inches in length. You can
buy a glass cutter at the store for ten
cents or so and the clerk will show
you how to use it or he will cut the
strips for you. With china cement at-
tach the long strips close to the long
edges of the foundation glass, putting
one strip on top of the other, so as to
make the wall two thicknesses of the
glass high. In a similar way, cement
the two four inch strips on at one end
and two of the shorter pieces at the other
end so as to leave an entrance door-
way here. (See the figures.) Fasten
the other two short pieces half way
between the ends so as to divide the
nest into. two rooms. You will want,
also, two glasses five inches square
to serve as roofs for the chambers and
two pieces of card board of the same
size.

When the cement of the walls is
dry, you must bind the edges of the
nest with black cloth to keep out the
light. Cut a couple of strips of the
cloth, say black cambric, ten inches
long and an inch and a half wide.
Smear one side of each with LePage's

2l6

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

or other good glue and fasten it in
place along the top of the wall, then
turn it over the edge onto the bottom
of the foundation glass. In the same
way bind pieces on the ends, leaving
the door open. Now cut strips of Tur-
kish toweling an inch wide and the
same length as the glass strips, that is,
two ten inches, one four and one three

PLAN OF A TWO-ROOM NEST.
a, nursery; b, food room; s, sponge.

;,_■ '■' ■<<■>< ><t'\>i ■> '-;-■■'. gg •■>.; '. g ■}■

PLAN OF THE CROSS SECTION OF THE NEST.
c, black cloth binding; d, Turkish toweling; e, card-
board cover; /, the dotted line represents the
rubber band around the nest; s, sponge.

and a half inches long. Fold the long
edges of these pieces over until they
meet in the midline, leaving the rough-
est side of the toweling out. Smear
the tops of all the walls with glue and
fix the toweling on the walls with the
turned-in edges down. Lay the roof
glasses on the chambers ; they are sup-
ported by the toweling which permits
air to get in and serves to prevent the
ants from escaping if the cover is re-
moved for a moment, as they find its
rough surface difficult to crawl over.
Now place a bit of moist sponge as
large as your thumb nail in each room,
cover the roof glass with the card-
board squares which may be held in
place by rubber bands running around
the nest and the house is done.

We must next secure our live stock.
I usually take a pint fruit jar when I
go out for ants. The wood ant, found
in decaying stumps, is a good one to
observe, or any of the larger kind that
live in the ground or under stones may
be used. When you have found a
colony of ants, dig into their nest until
you find the larvae or cocoons ; the

latter egg-shaped, pale yellow objects
like small kernels of puffed rice, the
former, tiny white worms with one
end curved like a hook. Now scoop
up some of the ants and their larvae
and cocoons into the fruit jar, tie your
handkerchief or other cloth over the
mouth so they will not smother on the
way home.

Now, how shall we induce the
ants to go into their new home? It is
a very simple matter and yet, until
you know how, it is a very difficult
task. I once told one of my nature
study classes to put the ants in the
nest and neglected to give them the
detailed directions how to do it.
When I returned to the room a few
minutes later it was to see a lot of
girls frantically shaking ants out of
their sleeves, boys chasing ants about
the floor or slapping their legs to stop
the progress of intruders, for ants are
quite as difficult to drive as the pro-
verbially obstinate pig and a good deal
more difficult to see when they do bolt
for liberty. Take a pan large enough
to hold the nest and leave some room
besides and place it in a still larger
pan. Put some water in this larger
pan so that the smaller one will be en-
tirely surrounded by water. Put the
nest in the smaller pan ; be sure that
the sponges are moist and the card-
board covers in place. Dump the con-
tents of the fruit jar down beside the
nest and leave it ; as the debris dries
out the ants will seek for themselves
and their young some dark, moist re-
treat and as the nest is just such a
place they will move their larvae and
cocoons to it. When they are com-
fortably settled, plug the entrance
doorway with some absorbent cotton
or a wad of cloth. Now the nest may
be kept anywhere. It is well not to
have more than twenty-five or so of
the ants and about the same number
of larvae and cocoons in one nest.

We may now make one of the rooms
the feeding room ; remove the card-
board cover from over the roof glass
and take the sponge out of this room.
Put in a bit of peanut as large as a
bird seed or a crumb of sponge cake
moistened with honey or a shred of
raw meat. Any one of these makes

ENTOMOLOGY.

217

provision enough for the whole nest,
for a week. Stale food should not be
left in the nest and if any becomes
mouldy, it must be removed at once
and the room cleaned. Cleanliness is
quite as essential to the health of the
ants as it is to human beings and
housecleaning should come every two
weeks, but it is not a very serious pro-
cess in this simple house. When the
ants are all in the dark room, and that
is where they usually are, remove the
roof glass from the food room, and
plug the doorway leading from it into
the nursery. Wipe out the room with
a cloth dampened in alcohol so as to
kill all mould spores, for mould is fa-
tal to the ants. Now put the moist
sponge in the room after it has had
time to air a little and cover it with
roof glass and card board, first taking
the plug out of the doorway between
the rooms, however. Take the card-
board off of the nursery now and the
ants will obligingly remove their pos-
sessions and themselves into the clean
chamber when you may clean the nur-
sery in the same manner. Always
keep the nursery dark, except when
the cover is off for a few moments of
inspection, and the food room light.

After you have made the first nest
and have watched the inhabitants for
a while you will probably want to se-
cure other kinds of ants and keep them
to compare their habits. Do not try
to put more than a single kind of ant
in the same nest, at least not until you
know a good deal about their out-of-
door ways. Larger nests of three or
four rooms may be made for the large
colonies and small nests for the tiny
ants. The animals have been kept in
these nests for years so that if you are
not at once successful in keeping the
colony alive you may be sure that you
are neglecting some important detail.
Keep the sponges moist, not wet ; feed
sparingly, occasionally giving a bit of
fruit ; clean the nest thoroughly. At-
tention to these things should insure
success from the start.

Peculiar Metamorphosis of the Tobac-
co Beetle.

BY DR. R. MENGER, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

Shortly after my contribution on the
tobacco beetle was in the hands of the
editor of The Guide to Nature, 1 hap-
pened to shell out another larval beetle

I-

■

r^Wi ^■3^''

-&^A

September ! Perhaps your chief
merit is that you prepare the way and
usher in October, the month of the
fullness of interest and beauty.

PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF MATURING TOBACCO

BEETLE LARVA.

Very highly magnified. Original, one-eighth inch.

from a cigar in its maturing cycle of
development — and a most interesting
study it was ! Its cubic length was
only about one-eighth of an inch, and
it was in its shedding stadium. After
detecting this specimen, which was
partly (its thoracic and head parts,
antennae, legs and part of the abdo-
men) denuded of its previous external
integument or hull and of white color,
I mounted it in glycerine on a slide
glass, and at once preoared the photo-
micograph seen herein, which I be-
lieve an unusually interesting and rare

2l8

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

specimen to study the genesis of such
minute beetles.

The microscope and the photographic
reproduction in this issue of The Guide
to Nature from the original specimen
show how the developing offspring of
this minute larvae (hardly one-eighth of
an inch long) sheds its previous integu-
mental environments and gradually
frees itself entirely of all its former
hulls. The latter are nicely seen on
this photograph — about half way
stripped off its new anatomy — the
lower dark outlines with the charac-
teristic hairy integumental covering
(a) and (ab) being gradually peeled
off and folded up at the base part (ab)
of the new beetle's abdomen, when the
thus "newborn" little fellow is about
"ripe" to escape into the world — after
perhaps one more evolution of its tho-
racic organs, the wing parts and other
of its anatomy. Some outlines of the
(ringed) abdomen of this maturing to
bacco beetle are quite plainly seen
through the dark outlines of the old
hull (b) and the developing feet (c)

and one antennal appendage — the
jointed and curved organ (d) at the
head parts (e) with both dark eyes
with lens, and the thoracic outlines (f)
are quite conspicuous. The entire pro-
cess resembles somewhat the shedding
process of certain hairy caterpillar
(larval butterflies) and other forms of
insect life, including the vast numbers
of all genera of beetles.

When I first detected this specimen
it showed life, but its movements were
very feeble and hardly perceptible. It
was found snugly imbedded between
some of the cigar foldings, in a furrow
similar to the larvae found and des-
cribed and illustrated in the June issue
of The Guide to Nature, but it is a
much further advanced pupal state than
the one seen in the previous specimen
of the single cigar snecimen.

This closes the history of the meta-
morphosis of "just a little bug,'' the
tobacco beetle ; and I hope I am not
again intruding too lengthily on the
valuable space of The Guide to
Nature.

The Peony: "King of the Garden."

BY GEORGE II. PETERSON, FAIR LAWN, X. J.

The peony of to-day stands pre-
eminently and unquestioned "King of
the Garden," just as for ages the place
of "Queen" has been accorded to the
n>se, and, while the latter has ever been
associated in our minds as of the aris-
tocracy of flowers, the most of us have,
until recently at least, thought only of
the peony as we have of the hollyhock,
the larkspur and lavender of "Grand-
mother's garden," so often now referred
to.

Since that day, however, the subject
of this sketch has undergone an evolu-
tion of wondrous development, until

to-day, we have flowers on four-foot
stems, ranging from six to nine inches
in diameter, and in color from purest
snow white to deepest, blackish ma-
roon ; in all imaginable shades of pink
and yellow, and often in the same
flower combining in wondrous com-
bination many shades and colors.
Coarseness, at least in our minds, is
usually associated with great size, but
this is not true of the peony, for im-
mense as the flowers often are, their
delicacy of coloring is scarcely equalled
by the rose, and the silky satiny tex-
ture of its petals are often such as to
put sheer silk itself to blush.

But, I hear some one say, "The chief

THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE.

219

charm of the rose is in its sweetness."
very well, here, too, the modern peony
challenges the "Queen of Flowers."
Was ever a rose sweeter than Mme.
Crousse or Madam de Verneville? Was
ever riower more refreshing than the
syringa-like fragrance of Philomele or
the spicyness of Mons. Krelage? Did
ever riower possesses the rich, languor-
ous oriental odor of La Tulipe or Marie
Jacquin?

While there are other species of
peonies of more or less value, the chief
one, and in which such vast improve-
ment has been made, is the Chinensis
or Albiflora class. This was taken up
by the French hybridists during the
latter half of the past century, with the
results which we see and enjoy to-day.

CULTURE OF THE PEONY.

The peony delights in a rich, deep
soil of medium character ; i. e., that
which is neither clay nor sand. Fresh
manure should not be placed in con-
tact with root. The peony will live
and grow in any ordinary soil, and with
ordinary care or, for that matter, with
no care at all, but where specimen

THE ACHILLE.

blooms are wanted, special preparation
and care should be given.

Planting should be made in fall after
the roots are well ripened, which in
this latitude, near New York City, oc-
curs during late September and early
October. From this time until the
first of May they may be planted when-

A FIELD OF PEOXIES— A MASS OF DELIGHT.

220

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

ever the frost is out of the ground, but,
when convenient, it is desirable to
plant in the early fall. At or near the
top of the root will be seen protruding,
dormant eyes or buds of a fleshy na-
ture. In planting, the root should be
set so that these eyes are about three
inches beneath the surface of the soil.
If the plants are to remain undisturbed
for a long term of years, the roots
should be placed three and one-half
feet apart. A light mulching of ma-
nure may be placed on the surface for
the winter, but this is not necessary
or even desirable if the ground has
been made quite rich. In any event,
it is not well to smother the peony
during winter, as it is a cold-loving
plant, and freezing of root is more
beneficial than otherwise.

In spring, soon after the frost is out,
the mulching, if any has been given,
should be raked aside, and soon there-
after will be seen the strong, reddish-
green shoots bursting forth from the
ground, and which grow with surpris-
ing rapidity. All that is necessary
from this time until the flowers bloom
is to keep the surface of the ground
mellow with a hoe, without going deep
enough to disturb or injure the root,
also give copious supply of water if
rains are infrequent. An occasional
application of manure water during the
month of May or the period of rapid
growth, which corresponds to this time

here, will tend to develop extremely
large flowers.

Each strong shoot will usually pro-
duce three or four buds, but, with the
exception of the largest central one,
these should be pinched off where qual-
ity and not quantity is desired. After
blooming, the only care required will
be to see that the ground is kept free
of weeds, and in October, when the
foliage turns yellow, it may be cut of!
and removed, and the root beneath the
surface is then in the same condition
as when first planted, except that it
has doubled in size.

While the peony, because of its hardi-
ness, freedom of disease and insect
pests, is especially the flower for "the
people," it is also one of the most use-
ful of all-around flowers on estates of
the rich. There it may be employed in
large mass beds, and so will give a
color effect perhaps superior to any-
thing else which can be used. For
bordering long walks and drives, it is
also specially effective. As a cut
flower it has scarcely a rival, and is
now used very largely in bold decora-
tions. For this purpose, the flower
should be cut just as the bud begins to
expand, and in this condition it may
be kept for a week or more, if placed in
water in a cool, dark cellar. It will
then open up much larger and finer
than if left on the plant.

For foliage effect the peony is also

MARIE JACQUIN.

THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE.

221

very useful. Even through the worst
droughts of midsummer the foliage re-
tains its fresh, glossy greenness, un-
touched by insects or diseases, and this
can be said of very few other plants
in the rloricultural world.

A few of the leading varieties in this
class of peonies, and which are most
generally successful, are

Edulis Superba

Festiva Maxima

Jeanne d'Arc

La Tulipe

Duchess de Nemours (Calot)

Mad. Calot

Mad. de Verneville

Marechal MacMahon

Marie Jacquin

Modele de Perfection

Modeste Guerin

Couronne d'Or

Mad. Barillet-Deschamps

Mad. Ducel

Mons. Dupont

Sarah Bernhardt

Marie Lemoine

Octavie Demay

Avalanche

Claire Dubois

Mons. Martin Cahuzac

The above will give a wide range of
color, form and season.

Next in importance to the above
class is the mountain or tree peony. This
species bears its flowers some two
weeks earlier than the above, and, un-
like the Chinensis peony, the growth
of each year does not die away above
the surface of the ground. On the con-
trary, this growth increases slowly in
size each year, and in fall the foliage
falls off as with a deciduous shrub.
This is an exceedingly interesting class
of plants which has been developed to
a high state of perfection by the
Japanese, with whom it has been a
favorite flower for hundreds of years,
and, while it is a fairly hardy plant,
yet in severe northern latitudes it
should be given protection in winter.

Blooming at about the same time as
the above, comes Paeonia Tenuifolia,
a brilliant red flower, both single and
double, of medium size. The foliage
of this species is particularly attractive,

MARIE LEMOIXE.

being very deeply cut, as in a very fine
fern.

Following this, and before the
Chinese peony blooms, comes Paeonia
Officinalis, whose chief variety is Rubra
Plena, the old fashioned red peony of
our grandmothers' gardens. The color
of this flower is exceptionally brilliant,
but, compared with the Chinese varie-
ties, the flower is only moderate
in size, is not agreeably fragrant and
comes on rather short and not very
strong stems.

While there are other species of
peonies found in various parts of the
world, the above four embrace all that
are worthy of general cultivation by
the amateur, and no diversion of man
will be found so alluring and fascina-
ting as the cultivation and study of
this truly wonderful flower.

"Not interested in it." occasionally
we hear said of Arcadia or one of its
publications. And then we are not dis-
couraged, but increase efforts in that
particular direction, because our mis-
sion is to interest people in nature, as
well as to assist those already inter*
ested.

222

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

VERY BEAUTIFUL CLOUDS AFTER A MAY THUNDERSTORM AT ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

THE CAMERA.

223

Photographic Studies of Squirrel. Kilmer, 165 West Eighty-fifth Street,

Here are some excellent photographs New York City. They show good skill,

of grey squirrels kindly contributed to patience and love of the graceful ani-

The Guide to Nature by Dr. Thereon mals.

A PROFILE STUDY IN "EATING BREAKFAST."

DON'T YOU WISH YOU HAD A BITE?

224

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

'•IT'S GOOD."

"ALMOST TOO GOOD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY"

THE CAMERA.

225

The Charms of Boating.

Here is a gem of the photographic
art. The old tree, the distant dream-
ing: vista, the exact angle of the canoe
and the delineation of every detad in
the reflection, all combine to produce
perfection. It seems almost too good
for photography. Who would ever
think of the "unstable equilibrium" of
a canoe in looking" at this scene?
Rather does one feel a sense of perfect
poise and restfulness. Gladly would
the beholder float away into dreamland
of reality.

The photographer is MY Frank P
Jewett of Orange, New Jersey. He
also submits the two following. The
boat ard the path, the shady tree, the
foliated arch and the tangled horde"
land are worth careful study. Even
the tufs of grasses in the center of
the foreground were needed there for
perfect finish. How the indefinite far-

ther course of the path and the some-
what limited view of the distant boat
lure one on, and bring up imaginings
of even greater riches. But such is
life ! The present wealth needs the
su -plement of uncertain future atlrac
tions. And here we have the epitome
of all in one picture. That's why I
have labelled it, "Life," though there
is none visible. Things are sometimes
the antithesis of what they seem!

For a study in aquatic plants, of the
foreground and the mellow hazy dis-
tance, this third picture i= well worth
close attention. The boatman has not
so much pleasure for himself as
he gives us. He did his part well. The
unconscious beauty of him and the
boat will reach thousands of whom he
never dreamed. That stroke of the
paddle was but one of hundreds, but
it was the one that shall live forever.
Perhans some act of ours here or there
shall make all the others worth while.

LIFE"— WHICH WILL YOU TAKE— THE PATH OR THE BOAT)

226

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

THE SENTINEL BIRCHES, AND A STUDY IN V'S'IA.
hotographed by Sarah Weaver, Plattsburg, New York.

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL.

227

Why You Should Be a Naturalist.

A naturalist is one who takes an
appreciative interest in the natural
world. This interest may be general or
limited, but in either case it must be
real and active. Interest limited to
effusive words is fully as sacrilegious
as absolute indifference — perhaps in-
deed more so. The indifference may
have the excuse of ignorance, but
effusion alone is hypocritical.

You should be a real naturalist :

First, because you have been en-
dowed with intelligence and esthetic
powers and placed in an interesting
and beautiful world.

Second, because the series of privi-
leges we call life is ensured to us onlv
once. Other privileges may come, but
these never again. "Life is real." and
the realities are better than the arti-
ficialities.

Then you should persist in being a
naturalist. Do not admit and act on
the force of the argument once or for
limited time, and then be content ever
afterwards to be a "has been."

Most people are naturalists, at heart,
and some of the best are so without
knowing it, because they have never
realized that their own powers of ob-
servation and appreciation come within
the scope of the meaning of the term,
naturalist.

So do not forget : "A naturalist is
one who takes an appreciative interest
in the natural world." A general love
of starry skies, sunrises and landscapes

may lead to greater riches of less con-
spicuous things. Truly said Fabricius,
"Natura, maxime miranda in minimis"
(Nature is most to be admired in those
works which are the least.)

As a general rule it may be said of
the naturalists' riches, as of those of
the commercial world, the rarest things
or those the most difficult to obtain are
the most valuable.

Are you missing much of this nature
wealth? If so, strive at once, and
earnestly, to obtain that which is yours.

Yes, you should be a naturalist, and
probably are.

Do Not Be Egotistical.

Do not limit your thoughts to your-
self, admire yourself and talk about
yourself all the time. Be not always
centripetal, but sometimes fly off in
centrifugal tangents. Explore the sur-
roundings. Get out of yourself.

I do not mean you, individual, and
yet I do as well upon second thought;
but I had in mind primarily you,
humanity. You, the human race, limit
too much your talk, your oratory, your
ideas of value, your publications to
yourself. Go to any news counter or
reading room and a mere g'lance at
ninety-nine per cent, of the periodicals
show you that thev say incessantly, "L"
'T." "I," "I,"— I. humanity, did this, did
that. We like to talk about and think
about and read about ourselves too
much. Humanity can be too egotistical
as well as can an individual. Get out of

228

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

yourself, humanity, and recognize that
though you may be "it," you are not
"all." "There are others," and other
forms of life; other things are worthy of
careful consideration.

The Guide to Nature is the very
antithesis of egotism. It's prime pur-
pose is to lead you, humanity, delight-
fully out of yourself to a considerate
appreciation of "the others" around
you. The same Power that produced
you produced them also. What would
you think of a set of children, or one
child, in a family that took no notice
or had no regard for other members of
the same family ! I do not believe the
Head of the Family would enjoy that.
Probably it was this thought in Brown-
ing's mind that induced him to write,
"God must be glad one loves His world
so much."

But, O Browning, why didn't you tell
us about the egotist who has no love or
regard for the other parts of His
World? Perhaps even you, with all
your verbal skill, could not have given
full expression to your thoughts on
such indifference.

Don't be egotistical.

evening, Mr. Crochier said that there
was not money enough in Holyoke to
buy the dog. — The Republican, Spring-
field, Mass.

A Life Saving Dog.

There is one dog in Holyoke who
ought to have a Carnegie medal for
the saving of life, if all accounts of its
actions at the time of the big Donoghue
fire on Main Street are true. Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Crochier lived on the
fourth floor of the block, and the even-
ing of the fire Mr. Crochier was at the
Red Men's meeting and the family had
retired for the night. Blanche, the
eighteen-months old baby, was sleep-
ing in the crib, and at the alarm of fire
in some way the family got separated
from the baby and she was left behind.
According to the story, Rover, a four-
year-old bull-dog, owned by Mr. Cro-
chier, was bound to go back into the
building and could not be stopped. He
got away from those who tried to stop
him and, going into the tenement,
which was filled with smoke, he seized
the infant by the dress and brought
her down the four flights of stairs to
the open air. The baby was almost
stifled with the smoke, but soon re-
covered. In talking of the matter last

! CORRESPONDENCE I

How Sea Urchins Dig Into Rocks

Grantham, New Hampshire.
To The Editor: —

Miss Sarah Root Adams in her very
interesting article, "A Rock-pool by the
Sea," writes : "I have read, in a work
translated from the French by an Eng-
lish naturalist, that the sea urchins hollow
out holes for themselves in the hardest
rocks. I am curious to know whether on
any part of our coast they do this."

I have never been able to discover
them in their rock homes, but in a little
book ("A First Lesson in Natural His-
tory") I have, written by Mrs. Agassiz,
I find this: "The sea urchin has one
very peculiar habit. He bores for him-
self a hole in the rocks, which just fits
him, and makes a very comfortable and
snug retreat. The common sea urchin
of Nahant, Massachusetts, is one of those
that make these singular holes, and you
may have an opportunity of seeing them
in the rocks there."

So far as I can learn, their method of
making these holes, which have been
found in both hard and soft rocks, has
never been discovered. That they are
made bv the animals themselves seems to
have been proven beyond a doubt, as they
are found in them, and fit them so per-
fectly that no animal not of exactly their
size and shape could have fashioned
them : thev are of all sizes, from that of
the young sea urchin to the full grown
one.

Some naturalists have supposed them
to have been made by the constant fric-
tion of a fringe that is in unceasing mo-
tion. This fringe, which is invisible to
the naked eye, covers the spines of the
animal, and by the continued turning
over and over of the sea urchin in the
same spot the hole may be worn in the
rock.

It is hard to believe that these holes,
which have been found in the hardest

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

229

rock and fit the animal as perfectly as if
cut with the nicest instrument, can he
made with a substance so delicate and
soft as the fringes on the animals.

To me, with what I have been able to
learn personally of the sea urchin, it is
still an interesting mystery about which
I am very anxious to learn more.

Kate A. Jones.

PAASIES IN SEPTEMBER,

BY EMMA PEIRCE, SUGAR HILL, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Pansies, little faces,
With their airs and graces,
Line the garden path,
September's aftermath.

From shades' of deepest night,
To tints of sunshine bright,
And fire on setting suns,
Their color-gamut runs.

And character they have,
As well as color brave,
And messages of cheer
Through blossom time of year.

With charm acquaintance lends,
They greet us like old friends.
And life is richer far
Where beds of pansies are.

OCTOBER.

BY EMMA PEIRCE, SUGAR HILL, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The trees are rioting in wealth

Of eastern kings of old,
For they have felt the Midas touch,

Are turning into gold.

Refining fires of maples, too,

Are lighting all the land,
The crimson torches, near and far,

Ablaze on every hand.

Their work is ended, one by one
They rest within the wood;

And in this transformation scene
Is written,— "It is' good."

K<<<c<<<gc<acgg^Ctf<«^gg<«^ga<«c<ac«c<<c<«cc<<cc<gc<«<<^

••••'* ;

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION'

i<&KZ&L<&^^^

Sfe

Personal Explanatory Note:— Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing Chap-
ters are represented by this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years
of age) are referred to my department ("Nature and Science") in the "St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen-
tu ry Company, New York City.— Edward F. Bigelow.

THE NEED OF ASSOCIATION
The development of one's personality cannot be accomplished in isolation or solitude;
the process involves close and enduring association with one's fellows. If work were
purely a matter of mechanical skill, each worker might have his cell and perform his
task, as in a prison. But work involves the entire personality, and personality finds
its complete unfolding, not in detachment, but in association — Hamilton Wright Mabie.

Personal

To Boys and Girls: —

All my magazine writing for boys and
girls, and their letters of observations or
of inquiry with my answers, are in the
"Nature and Science" department of "St.
Nicholas" of which I am the editor.
While that magazine is not the official
organ of the AA, my connection with it
and with the AA brings both into close
affiliation. All our boys and girls should
therefore be regular readers of "St.
Nicholas." It is the best magazine ever
published for young folks. It also is of
great interest to adults, especially to

naturalists. We shall be glad to send
you a circular.

We can assist you in any way that you
may desire, with or without pay. If you
will help us as you may be able, we will
reciprocate and will try to live up to the
Golden Rule. Our calls are many, our
correspondence enormous, our informa-
tion on every phase of nature is exten-
sive and what we do not know we can
find out for you. Careful attention is
given to every correspondent. Write
plainly, concisely and on only one side
of the paper.

The Agassiz Association,

Edward F. Bigelow, President.
Stamford, Connecticut.

230

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Recent Contributions to Arcadia.

Since the furnishing of the account-
ing room of the A A Home at Arcadia,
Sound Beach, by the Buffalo, New York,
Chapter (as previously announced) the
principal gifts have been as follows : —

A fine pair of large, plate glass, photo-
graphic mirrors made to special speci-
fications, contributed by Air. W. W.
Heroy of Stamford, Connecticut.

An equipment of working tables for
the laboratory by Airs. Henry Lee Hig-
ginson, Boston, Massachusetts ; Dr.
Robert T. Morris, New York City, and
Mr. Charles M. Goethe, Sacramento,
California.

Dr. Amos J. Givens of Stamford, Con-
necticut, has liberally contributed to the
expenses of certain scientific work.

Aid Needed in Operating Expenses.

The following paragraph from the
January number of The Guide to
Nature, in the announcement of Arca-
dia, is herewith repeated in all its em-
phasis of bold face type and under-

scoring

"No provision is made for the ex-
pense of assistants, experiments, photo-
graphy and other operating expenses."

The prophetic theory that induced
that paragraph several months ago, be-
fore the foundations of the buildings
had been laid, has now merged into
actual experience. Let me repeat fur-
ther from that number :

"I appeal for assistance in expense of
operation and in proving the apprecia-
tion of the entire plan."

The student and aiding memberships
are as follows :

$3.00 paid upon entering and $1.50 per
year thereafter constitutes a person a
Corresponding Member.

$5.00 paid annually constitutes a per-
son a Sustaining Member.

$100.00 paid at one time constitutes
a Life Member.

$1,000.00 paid at one time constitutes
a person a Patron.

$5,000.00 paid constitutes a person a
Founder.

$25,000.00 paid constitutes a person a
Benefactor.

I and members of my family who aid
are willing to give a large part of our
time, to pay rental to the AA for the
residence, to devote a large part of per-
sonal means, to do all possible — but the
rest, an important part, you must do or
it will not be done. Come and see the
cash books and add your assistance to
actual expenses. Let us tell you what
we need.

What the AA Means.

The Agassiz Association stands for
the study of nature from the student's
point of view. It is the University
and not the Kindergarten. Whether
you are four or eighty-four it says, be
an original investigator; see things for
yourself; look into the thing, not into
what has been written about the thing;
what you find, not what someone tells
you to find ; begin with nature ; In the
words of the great scientist from
whom we take our name, "Study na-
ture, not books." The Association
does not stand for the Kindergarten
notion which says, "I will show you
how to play the game ; then we all
will play it." It does not tell you to
study this or that and to do it this
month, regardless of the fact that "this"
or "that" may be totally inaccessible to
you.

Its officers have no salary. They glad-
ly give their time and their labor. It
confers honors where it sees honors are
especially due. There are no money
dividends. It is an Association for mu-
tual helpfulness, in which every mem-
ber, every Officer, every Councilor con-
tributes time or money, or both, to fur-
ther the original study of nature. The
AA believes that there can be no higher
occupation for the human mind and
nothing more inspiring than the con-
templation of some aspect of this beau-
tiful world.

It frankly invites you and with no
secondary motive to join its ranks, to
help and to be helped, to give your time
and your mite of money to help your-
self and to help others, and to receive
gratefully the assistance that others can
give you.

In this matter of mutual helpfulness
in the study of nature, by all ages and
in all places, the AA is the oldest, most

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

231

extensive and most efficient" organiza-
tion in existence. Its membership
means aid ; its honors mean merit ; its
study of nature means love for nature,
and its onward course is ever true to
its motto "Per naturam ad Deum." On
these principles, and to this end, it cor-
dially invites you, if you are not already
a Member, to become one, or to form a
Chapter of Members. If you are a
Member, it urges you to greater activ-
ity in extending its influence. The work
of the AA was never more needed than
in this age of artificiality, of the nerv-
ous strain and stress of the modern
struggle for existence, of the tension of
high keyed life, of intense competition,
of financial fluctuations and of varying
prosperity and adversity. Now more
than ever there is a deep meaning in
the words "back to nature," or better
still, "keep anchored in nature."

You Are Cordially Invited
To become a member, either by form-
ing a Chapter, or as a Corresponding
Member. The total necessary expense
for an entering Chapter is $3.00, viz :

CHAPTER ORGANIZATION EXPENSE. "

Entrance Fee, - - - - $1.25
Handbook, "Three Kingdoms," - .75
Engraved Charter, mailed in tube 1.00

Total necessary expense to a Chap-
ter upon joining the Association, $3.00

The Charter is 17x22 inches, hand-
somely engraved (diploma style) on
steel, and contains an excellent por-
trait of Agassiz, the golden seal of the
AA, the names of your officers, the
motto of the AA, a representation of
our badge, the "Swiss Cross," the name
and number of your Chapter, date of
its organization, date your annual
report is due and the autograph of the
President of the AA.

ANNUAL DUES.

The Annual Dues for Chapter, - $1.50
The Annual Dues each Member, .05

For the $1.50 the Chapter receives
the Official Journal The Guide to
Nature (subscription $1.00 per year)
and contributes 50c. to general ex-
penses.

For the 5c. individual fee, each mem-
ber contributes to the expenses of the
home office, and obtains the right to

have questions pertaining to nature
answered by mail, either by the Presi-
dent, his Private Secretary, or by some
member of the Scientific Council. The
object of the Council is to place each
member in direct communication with
authorities in the various departments
of nature and science.

CORRESPONDING MEMBERS EXPENSE

The total necessary expense for an
individual joining as Corresponding
Member is as follows :
Entrance Fee, - $0.25

Handbook, "Three Kingdoms," - .75
Certificate of Membership (18x23

in.) - .50

Annual Dues,

$1.50
$1.50

$3.00

Includes The Guide to Nature, and
all the privileges of Council and Home
office as with members of Chapters.

AA buttons, 5c each.

Our Humane-ness.

The laws forbid, as I walk the streets,
that any one shall punch me ; as I sit in
my house, no one shall enter and thrash
me ; nor in any place, shall I be afflicted
with galling, grievous, unjust burdens,
nor shall I be the subject of cruelty in
any form.

But, if that is all humanity has for
me, I am of all men most miserable. I
want to be more than an object of pity.
Indeed a sense of fair treatment, which
shall with their pity cater only to their
self-satisfaction, is not all I crave — not
all I am entitled to at the hands of fel-
low men. I crave not only to be a tar-
get of their humane qualities but one
with them. I ask not merely that they
have a Band of Mercy to apply that
quality to me, as an inferior, but that
they have a Band of Interest — for real
study and full equable appreciation. I
am a part of Creation- — by the same
Creator as they.

But who is this other I for which I,
the writer, plea figuratively, thus put-
ting myself in their place? I am the
horse, the dog, the cat, the bird, with
myriads of other forms of life, worthy
more than Mercy or Protection.

232

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

So, I, the writer, say the Bands of
Mercy or other Societies of Protection
are good only part way. An AA Chap-
ter is far better, in that it founds its
mercy not on our self-satisfaction but in
intelligent appreciation.

It is a self-satisfaction merely to give
money to a poor man begging at the
door. Such "gifts" are but the pur-
chase of the absence of pain on the part
of the "giver." So money given merely
to stop our pain, to cater to our sense of
justice or pity when a man is pounding
his horse, is good ; but it isn't the high-
est ideal. That man plying his club on
the horse is manifesting his spirit, not
far different, perhaps, from the one
who plys money to officer or court to
pound him. It is but a little while
since we, humanity, came out of savage
fight and struggle, and perhaps in the
present stage of development the crude
methods of Humane Societies or Bands
of Mercy or Societies for Protection are
the best we can do. There are more
Humane Societies, more Bands of
Mercy, with pity and clubs of protec-
tion than there are Appreciators of
Life in all its varied forms, more to
pity the horse than the make-up of the
man that makes him want to pound the
horse, more societies with laws of re-
straint, catering to self-satisfaction,
than there are. Chapters of The Agassiz
Association with the higher ideals of
equality, merit, of equal regret for the
"pounding" of the man, or the "shoot-
ing" of the hunter, as well as for the
suffering of the horse or the death of
the white heron.

It's coming yet for a' that and a' that,
when man and beast . and bird shall
brothers be for a' that and a' that.

The AA is but a double emphasis on
the beginnings of the alphabet, of the
new era, when mankind shall lay aside
laws and then necessity, poundings and
their incentives, shootings and their
motives or selfishness.

The AA has not a law for protection
or restraint, not a blow or shot at the
man any more than for beast or bird ;
it peers forward to the ideal man of the
future rather than backward to days of
savagery.

Are you looking forward or back-
ward? Help us to "ring in the new."

Nature Studies.

BY MISS HARRIET E. WILSON, CORRESPOND-
ING MEMBER NO. 2101, STORMSTOWN
CENTRE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Nature studies ! I have had nothing
but nature studies a lifetime. I was
born on a farm and lived there more
years than I expect to live. Only little
more than a year ago we moved to the
village and here we have nature too —
birds, birds, plenty of them.

I have been interested in two robins.
Their nest is in a neighboring lot. They
seem to obtain most of their living from
my lot. I observed one eat three fish-
ing worms in less than a minute — three
fishing worms, my fishing worms that I
depend upon to unlock the fertility of
the soil. I am not begrudging the
robin the worms. The robins were at
the green strawberries for breakfast
and the last thing at night, leaving
very few for me, and now it is the cher-
ries, many of which are being des-
troyed with the help of the English
sparrow.

We notice, too, that the bumblebees
are more numerous than they have
been for years. I deplored the scarcity
of the bumblebees, and the farmers
could not grow clover seed. Father
said it was the midge in the clover that
it would not seed. I know that flowers
depend largely upon insect fertilization
and the bumblebee visiting the clover
would carry pollen from one blossom
to another, and perhaps the bumblebee
is a foe to the midge. It is my opinion
that if it had been properly fertilized
the midge would not be there. The
bumblebee should be protected by law.
It visits the weigelia, mock orange, iris
and rose.

This is one of the best places to
study nature. We have within sixteen
miles the rocks of the different geolog-
ical ages from lower strata Silurian to
the coal measures and, of course, the
different soils and flowers.

This is the rich farm land of the
Silurian limestone of the Trenton
period. There is a fault about a half
mile from here where the under strata,
Canadian, comes to the surface and with
it the iron ore — limonite variety. There
are mines two miles from here in the
same fault in what we call the Barrens.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

233

The Barrens is sandy, very sandy. The
Jack pine, a scrubby, yellow pine, is
auite abundant in places. Huckleber-
ries, wild indigo, fern and ground pine
abound ; cranberries and spatter-dock
grow in the numerous ponds or small
lakes. The trailing arbutus is much
finer here than on the ridge, owing to
the sandy soil. No white water lilies
grow in this part of the country. They
have been grown in tubs. I wish I
had some. I would not insure the suc-
cess of the cultivation.

There are larger limonite mines five
miles from here and from a larger fault
in the same range as the nearer one,
forming a cave in the Silurian lime-
stone. The cave has not been explored
owing to the small entrance. One can
go in only a few feet.

Through the Barrens is what the
geologist calls the "Nittany Valley
anticlinal axis." This was a mountain
and the rocks on the Tussey Mountain
and the Bald Eagle Ridge or Muncy
Mountain are the same age. The
Medina white and Medina red sand-
stones of the Muncy Mountain are all
thrown down by erosion on the Bald
Eagle side of the mountain. The white
sandstone or ganister rock is used in
making some kind of fire brick for fur-
naces. Below this is the fossil iron ore
and the Paint Spring; farther on is the
Blue Spring in the range of the Lower
Helderberg limestone, and across the
railroad they have a Spook Spring.
When my father, born in 1818, was a
boy, my grandfather went to the Blue
Spring and caught some trout and then
had the children suck the water from
the trout's mouth as a preventive of
whooping cough. The ones who
sucked the water did not have it nearly
so hard as the ones who did not suck
the water from the trout's mouth !

I always make a bow to the James-
town weed or jimson weed, Datura stra-
monium. When I was suffering from
typhoid fever and neuralgia and after
I had taken, as I thought, a whole drug
store, the doctor proposed to make a
poultice of the Jamestown weed. Oh !
thanks. I will never forget that James-

town weed. The doctor also added
that it would make the hair grow —
fried in lard it would make the hair
grow on a bald head.

There are wild flowers too numerous
to mention — hoarhound made into a
tea for colds, catnip for pain, mother-
wort for the nerves, spearmint and pep-
permint, boneset or thoroughwort for
a cold and to break a fever, life ever-
lasting for a poultice for a carbuncle or
a sore in the heart of the hand, vervain
or carpenter square which is good for
heart trouble, calamus for indigestion,
crow's foot for dysentery, black snake-
root — cohosh — soaked in water for
dyspepsia, and the leaves of the tall
mullein smoked for bronchitis.

Along the Hudson River and Utica
shale there is an oil which floats on the
water. The shales disintegrate form-
ing a white potter's clay. The water
in a spring is milky. Violets, ferns,
cat-tails, huckleberries, dewberries and
blackberries are abundant. The sweet
eglantine grows here too. It is sweet
in its wild home, but when transplanted
to the lawn it loses its sweetness and
becomes a nuisance. It spreads too
much for family comfort.

A tree grew on the Hudson River
and Utica shales on which the Indians
painted a half-moon and other marks
from which this Half-moon Valley re-
ceived its name. A man by the name
of Storm laid out the town which never
grows ; hence Stormstown. Bald Eagle
is named for an Indian chief who had
his home along the banks of the Bald
Eagle Creek near Milesburg.

The Bear Meadows on top of the
Tussey Mountain is sometimes called
a peat bog. The ground is springy ; in
jumping up and down or stamping, the
ground will spring up and down. The
pitcher plant and some evergreen trees
and tall huckleberry-like trees grow
here. The pitcher plant and evergreen
trees will not bear transplanting.

Minnows, suckers, catfish and eels
are caught in the Half-moon Run. The
streams of the country are stocked with
trout.

234 THE GUIDE TO NATURE

5 The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League j

By George Klingle, Summit, New Jersey

Join the Crusade in Behalf of Our which event at once plant another. If

Trees. your tree is cut down, see to it that the

That we know of the danger threat- wood is all utilized. It took years to

ening this country, because of the des- build it up. Even its small branches

truction of our trees, amounts to little contain heat which may bless some one

unless we individually become factors poorer than yourself. Allow no hire-

among the forces tending to stay the ling to burn it up as a brush heap, but

destruction or to build up the pha- help to cultivate the spirit of protection

lanxes of the trees. for tree products by looking carefully

The beneficent influences of the for- that something helpful is done with all

ests result from the combined influence parts of your tree.

of each tree within its borders. Each If you reside in a city do not allow

tree on the lawn is a factor in nature's the makers of sidewalks to smother

laboratory, doing its part for human your tree ; it requires air. Have the

benefit. We desire to ask of each mem- earth loosened somewhat about its

ber of the L. H. Nature League to take roots once a vear that air and rain may

up individually the cause of the trees. penetrate. Do not forget that a little

If the cause be considered a sacred and fertilizer once in a while aids the efforts

appealing one, there are few of us who of your tree to live, though in untoward

cannot do something in its behalf. conditions, and that a little water in

Each tree in being a beneficent agent times of intense heat would spare it the

appeals to us for our friendly consid- struggle to maintain its food supply,

eration. Over deforested land the Your tree is your friend ; feed it ; water

death-dealing influences of desert con- it.

ditions eventually prevail. Without Do not allow horses to be tied to

trees humanity would shortly perish ; your tree, or linemen to climb it by

it is our part to cherish and add to the means of climbing irons. When the

number of our trees. bark is broken insect enemies rejoice

Of the following suggestions one or and take possession,

more are possible for every member, If you see a tree in danger from a

old or young, to take up: horse, an electric line or human agent.

Increase interest in trees by learning do not simply regret the threatened

all you can about them — what they do danger and pass on ; do something

and how they do it. worth while about it — protect your

Look up corners where a tree might friend, even if it cost you a scrap of

be planted and plant it. If you have no time and trouble.

such corner perhaps your neighbor has A copy of Professor Forbush's book,

one, or more, and might consider favor- entitled, "Useful Birds and Their Pro-

ablv a sup-p-estion from you, especially tection," will be given as a prize, for

if you accompanied it by an offer to the best concise essay on "Some Birds

furnish the trees. Nearing Extinction," presented by any

Enter with spirit into Arbor Day L. H. Nature League member under

celebrations, wherever possible inter- twenty-one years of age.

esting children to individually plant Contest closes November seventh.

trees on their own premises. Such A prize, hereafter to be announced,

trees often may become especial wiH be given for an essay to be entitled

objects of interest when they bear the "The Stone Book of The Ages."

name of some member of the family or A prize will also be presented for the

of a cherished friend. best essay on the geological conditions

Allow no tree of yours to be cut of the locality where the author resides,

down without sufficient reason, in Contests close November seventh.

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

-*35

[ITERARY

BIOGRAPHICAL

Nature in Literature.

BY EARL, DOUGLASS, PITTSBURG, PA.

The last cold breath of winter had
gone and the air was fresh, pure and
mild on the vast prairie that extend-
ed in every direction to the warm
sky. The spring's work was done and
the sowed fields were getting green.
There was now time for a little rest
and recreation. My sister, her hus-
band and I were riding over the
smooth, grassy expanse where the
fresh green of spring was mingled with
the withered vegetation of the pre-
vious year. We were going to a beauti-
ful lake for a couple of days of change
and pleasure. I was occupying the
back seat alone, yet not alone for I
had with me no less distinguished com-
pany than Richard Jefferies — at least
his spirit was there for I was reading
his essay, "Nature and Books."

I know not just how much was due
to circumstances, how much to the
charm and originality of the author
and how much to the smiling prairie,
the pure air and the sky; but that es-
say was one of the most exquisite
literary feasts I ever enjoyed. It was
like a sweet dream the remembrance
of which comes again and again and
makes one happy. From that day to
this some of its thoughts come to me
with the sweet atmosphere and the
charming background of the prairie
and sky.

How often I have wished that I
might find other writings that would
give me such extreme delight, that
would paint in fresh and original
beauty the old world so it would be
new again. But "paint" is not the
right word. Nature needs no daub-
ing over with a brush or re-veneering.
Go deeper into her unfathomed wil-
dernesses, take broader views and you
will find that, to your eye, she is en-

dowed with eternal youth and never
ending transformation. The writings
of men of original thought are in-
geniously constructed lenses which
show us things that have been there
all the time but we either did not
see them before or saw them very
imperfectly. The aspect of the world
is changing all the time as the shifting
radiance of knowledge lights one
portion or another of our mental sky;
but the change is not often so sudden,
as when some illuminating thoughts
transform the mere rubbish of facts
into rare and beautiful things full of
life and meaning. We cannot expect
to enjoy the supreme and happy mo-
ment of first love or conversion every
day or every month ; but I believe that
the most of us could get more out of
literature than we do if we knew just
what to read and at what time. I
believe that the most of us have yet
to learn the art of reading, not only
what to read but when and where,
if we would get the most from books.
Not that it will ever be an exact
science, that would spoil the charm ;
but if we would first study guides to
the best literature we might get more
pleasure and profit from our reading.
Leaves fall from the printing presses
as thickly as leaves in the autumn
woods, but who shall tell us where
among them lie hidden the rich paw-
paws and the butternuts.

Jefferies said, "There were no books
as yet ; they have got to be written."
Outside of the best poetry, drama
and fiction it seems to me that he is
about right- The progress of the hu-
man race will of course always be of
vital importance and therefore our
present literature will furnish a rich
historic storehouse to be carefully pre-
served ; but how many books of the
present time will be read for pleasure

236

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

or for the nourishment and growth of
mind and heart a hundred years from
now? I feel pretty sure that the most
of the nature books are yet to be writ-
ten ; yet there are many books that
would help us and give us pleasure if
we knew just where to find them.

I have wondered if there are many
who have had experiences similar to
my own. I think it pretty safe to
judge at least a few others by our-
selves. I have plenty of reading to do,
it is part of my work, and, as I chose my
profession this reading is a pleasure.
Carlyle said, "Blessed is he who has
found his work ; let him ask no other
blessedness." This is the greatest
thing in life, but I do ask for more.
I consider it not only a duty but a
pleasure to appreciate to the best of
my ability art, literature and the out-
door world. It is rest and refresh-
ment and it makes me see far more in
my comparatively narrow line of re-
search. The animals that have left
but their bones and teeth buried in the
clay beds and sand bars of past times
become living animals again. They
graze on hillsides that have melted
away in the long ages; they repose
under trees that have left not a trace
behind or only a few rare leaf-prints
in the rocks ; they wade in reedy
marshes, the mud of which is now
layers of rock ; and many strange
pictures come more or less distinctly
before me as I walk along our common
fields. These are the side trips, the
excursions into wonderland, of the
specialist ; but these he must keep out
of his scientific papers which deal with
what is accurately known and can be
re-confirmed or demonstrated.

But there are times when the
ordinary books and scenes do not sat-
isfy. I am longing for something I
cannot find. We sometimes hear peo-
ple say, "I am hungry but I cannot
think of anything that I want to eat."
My condition is similar to theirs.
When I am at home I have access to
a large library. I often go to the card
catalogue and call for one or more
armfuls of books. There is much to
be learned from all of them, but per-
haps I have been trying to cram my
mind with facts for a week and the

fact department has been working
overtime and is weary ; it needs rest
and other departments are longing for
exercise. The books are not just
what I am craving now. Perhaps the
hungry person has had bread, pota-
toes, pork-and-beans and apple dump-
lings until he is tired of them. It may
be that his digestive organs have been
abused, and it may be that it is only
the calling of his system for some ele-
ments which it needs. Perhaps he wants
something that has the wild flavor of
the meadows or woods. It may be
mushrooms or delicious morelles or
fresh fish from the running stream.
I have something of an idea what
I want. I may be tired of bare facts
or even of thinking of the perpetual
strife, disappointments, poverty, suf-
fering and grind of my own species.
I want something restful, full of the
odor of the fields and groves, the light
of flowing streams and placid waters,
the deep, solemn shadows of the for-
ests or the boundless freedom of the
prairies. I want something that will
freshen and brighten the world to me
or something that will take me far
away on the wings of my imagination.
I want sometimes to be made to see
the world through the eye of the artist
without the use of too much of what
seems to me his technical slang; I
want to see it as the broad-minded
naturalist sees it — not the skeletons of
facts alone as they appear in his
scientific publications ; I want to see
nature as she is, more than all the
volumes of art, science and poetry that
ever have been written ; for undoubt-
edly beyond our best productions there
is higher art, science and poetry when
we are ready for it. There are lyrics,
epics, dramas, marvels and mysteries,
and all true. I want sometimes to go
back and see things as they appeared
to our forefathers, not as they appear
through our modern spectacles ; I want
sometimes to see them as they appear
to the wild imagination of a Haggard
and sometimes I wish again, as in boy-
hood, to roam for a little while in the
midsummer night's dream of love and
fairyland. Do I want too much? I
think not. The human mind has not
been built by the rule and square, nor

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

237

will it ever be a mere machine. If
it does it will soon wear out and break
down and leave nothing" behind but
rusting and decaying" rubbish. Nature
will soon be rid of such trash. The
mind has come up through stress and
strife, hopes, fears, love and mysteries
until it now is itself the greatest of
mysteries ; and it still lives and grows
and probably will ever live and grow
by wonder and mystery and the ex-
panse of the imagination. If one
could make a vitalized dictionary of it,
it would not pay ; paper and ink are
far better material for encyclopaedias.
There may be minds like that of Grad-
grind that can exist for a while on the
dry pabulum of facts but they do not
help the world and the tears shed on
their graves would never make the
violets grow.

A work that is true to nature, true
to life, goes straight to the heart. It
is its faithfulness to facts that tells —
not simple facts of nature alone but
facts of human conception of nature,
human thought and human feeling
as related to the outside world. The
great charm in literature is so sub-
tile it takes a genius to bring it out.
You read from one author and you
feel. "It's very true — Yes." You yawn
and your eyes look dull. You take up
another book. It electrifies you at
once. There are the same symbols
in black and white, but you hardly
know you see them for the writer has
in some mysterious way filled the sur-
rounding atmosphere with pictures —
no, not pictures but life.

I remember how much I enjoyed
Spenser's "Fairy Queen" — before I
read it. I had read about it and it was
the beautiful world of imagination to
my boyhood as I took those delight-
ful walks in the winter woods, and the
fairy scenes of frost, snow, ice, trees
and bushes furnished a true fairyland
of delight. Snenser was a ooet whose
writing it requires a poet's mind to
appreciate, but, if one had the rare
genius to oicture these scenes as I
saw and felt them, the brave knights,
lovely ladies and the wonderful type
of loveliness and perfection, the Fairy
Queen, as they appeared to my imagi-
nation, I am sure it would give ex-

quisite pleasure to the heart of an
imaginative boy or girl. Probably
there are older persons who would find
in it an hour of pure delight. It is
unfortunate that in childhood we can-
not express our thoughts, and often
when we get older we do not have
any worth expressing, — at least they
are very different. If the old thoughts
come again they come as a stolen
dream in a field of toil and we forget
the little feet that are paddling over
the same old road and looking for
something they cannot find. That is
the reason I wish never to be a child
again. It is inexpressibly sweet to
look back at some of childhood's
scenes ; but oh ! the pain and loneli-
ness of wishing something one does
not know how to get, and wanting to
understand so many things, and the
hoplessness of finding anything or
anybody to put the weary mind at
rest.

The harvest fields of Minnesota and
Dakota are far away ; so are the mel-
low groves and the sweet air of au-
tumn. I can not take hold of the plow
handles and turn the long black fur-
rows in the golden stubble-fields while
I take into my being all the surround-
ing rural scenes and learn the little
dramas of the lives of the rural people.
I cannot take my gun and dog and
hunt the wrild duck by the reedy lake
or the prairie chicken in the withered
grass or harvest field. I cannot see
the dog point writh meaning at the
hidden game nor can I feel the thrill
of excitement and delight as the bird
arises, whirls and sails rapidly away
and then falls before my gun ; but I
would like to read about these things
sometimes, not for the pleasure of
killing but for the thrill and charm
of life in the open outdoor world.
There may sometimes be more pleas-
ures in sitting by a city fireside read-
ing of these things than in doing them ;
and in our somewhat roundabout prog-
ress toward civilization the harmless
thrill of reading of these sports may
be a stepping-stone toward pleasures
as great but harmless.

Do I alwavs find what I want to read?

No, not always. Sometimes to satisfy
my desires I go and try to write it

238

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

myself; but I find it isn't as easy as I
thought. I get some words down that
do not fit the ideas in my mind ; I
cannot string the shining pearls on the
charming necklace in the unique de-
signs that I saw in my imagination,
but, like Mary, Queen of Scots, its
beauty and charm are spoiled in the
execution. In some way the pitcher
gets broken at the fountain, yet, I have
at least had a drink and feel satisfied.
I am glad, however, that there are a

omnivorous readers in our country
that there are not cranks enough to
support such a publication. Undoubt-
edly The Guide to Nature will help
us in finding the best literature of
nature.

The Book of the Cat. By Frances Simpson.
New York City: Cassell and Company,
Limited.

Cats are, generally speaking allies of
womankind as dogs are of men. But it is

1HE PROFESSOR CAT GIVING A LECTURE ON THE CAT FLEA.
A most remarkable example of good posing in animal photography. Illustration from "The Book of the Cat."

Courtesy of Cassell & Company, Limited, New York.

few things that I can read over and
over and over again and they always
satisfy. I wish that there were more
of them.

I have often thought if some scheme
could be devised so that we might
know where to get what we want in
the literature of nature it would be a
great blessing to us. The current lit-
erature is reviewed but in all the pub-
lications of the past where shall we
find what we want? I hear that
"What's in the Magazines" is discon-
tinued- Perhaps there are so many

a fact, as claimed by this magnificent book,
that "many celebrities of the sterner sex
have shown a sympathetic feeling for the
feline race." The cat is gradually creeping
into the affections of even business men in
this busy world.

For man or woman with even the slightest
love for cats this book is a joy. Some of
the illustrations are fascinating examples of
animals posing and photography. The book
not only appeals to one's aesthetic senti-
ments but has much of practical value,
showing excellent arrangements of catter-
ies, cares of the pets, etc. It is worth
while to have a knowledge of cats, to love
them, as a phase of nature interests.

RECREATION & VOL II NOVEMBER, 1909 No. 8 3* education

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor

■■ft

OUR NEW DEPARTMENT

BEGINS IN THIS NUMBER

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Sundays and Wednesdays :: :: 3:00 to 5:00 P. M.

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. ARCADIA: SOUND BEACH. CONNECTICU1

Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. .... Single Copy, 10 Cents
Entered a< (econd-clast matter June 12, 1909, at the poet office, Sound Beach, Conn., under Act of March 3, 1671

A COPY OF

"PHOTOGRAPHIC AMUSEMENTS"

With a NEW SUBSCRIPTION to

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Regular price of " PHOTOGRAPHIC AMUSEMENTS," - $1.00

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REDUCED IN PRICE
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^ The reduction in price of The Guide to
Nature makes it possible for us to offer a still
more attractive combination price. We now
offer

THE AMERICAN BOTANIST
and THE GUIDE TO NATURE

ONE FULL YEAR FOR $1.40

•J Everybody knows The American Botanist
or ought to; it is a great favorite with all
lovers of outdoors. The articles are untechnic
and yet strictly scientific.

«| THE FERN BULLETIN may be substitut-
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Every great man or woman is at heart a poet, and all
must listen long to the harmonies of Nature before they
can make translations from her infinite resources through
their own ideals into creations of beauty in words, forms,
colors, or sounds. — Luther Hurbank.

"INTIMATE HARMONY WITH NATURE."

Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers,
waterbugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud-turtles, elderberries, wild
strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to
wade in, water-lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies,
various animals to pet, hay-fields, pine-cones, rocks to roll,
sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets ; and any child
who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the
best part of his education.

By being well acquainted with all these they come into
most intimate harmony with nature, whose lessons are, of
course, natural and wholesome. — Luther Burbank.

FLSIE, DAUGHTER OF MR. AND MRS. H. A. STEARNS, 810 N. LOS ROBLES ST., PASSADENA,

CAL., AND THEIR TAME WILD CAT BENGAL.
Caught in the San Bernardino Mountains when Quite Young.
(Courtesy of "The Cat Journal.")

"The first necessity for interesting nature study is an intimate acquaintance with some
locality. It does not matter how small, how commonplace, how near the city, — the nearer
the better, provided there are trees, water, fences, and some seclusion. If your own roof-
tree stands in the midst of it all, then that is ideal."— Dallas Lore Sharp, in "The Lay of
the Land."

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

NOVEMBER, 1909

No. 8

A Freight Car Home Near to Nature

BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

UDGE M. C. Matthews of
Dubuque, Iowa, has not
only a mind of his own in
matters judicial, but in the
selection of an office. When
not in the Court House he
lives with his books in a
freight car near his home in the sub-
urbs of Dubuque. For years his
decisions have been held in great re-
spect. No wonder they have "weight"
because, doubtless, many of them are
brought forth in his quiet hours of con-
temolation in a freight car!

The judge is as

genial

he is

learned in the law, and no one enjoys
better than he a bit of pleasantry. It
is therefore quite natural that his
friends have made many a jocose re-
mark at his idiosyncratic form of study.
The car is without embellishment on
the outside with the exception of the
addition at one end of a well ventilated

mosquito netting cage. In general ap-
pearance it is an ordinary, side-tracked,
worn-out freight car. But on entering
the car, one is astonished at the luxuri-
ous appearance. Mission furniture,
leather bound books, a picturesque
clock, a carpet and rugs make the
visitor think he has entered a first-class
city office. The effect of contrast has
here surely been brought to its highest
degree of perfection.

The judge is surely a second George
Washington in one respect at least. He
is a Father of his Country in that he
has had twelve children, ten of whom
are now living. The family residence,
as stated above, is near by. The judge
surely is a man of diverse talents, en-
joying as he does a large family, with
sudden transits of bachelor isolation.

It will be of interest to our readers
to know something of the biography
of this talented judge whose love of na-
ture has induced this novel, yet effect-

242

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

JUDGE MATTHEWS IN HIS FREIGHT CAR HOME IN THE SUBURBS OF DUBUQUE, IOWA.

ive method of getting" near to her heart. student. He was thus well fitted to

He was born in the city of Dubuque teach school when only sixteen years of

in 1862, and in his earliest days was a age. He was admitted to the bar in

JUDGE MATTHEWS WITHIN HIS LUXURIOUSLY FURNISHED FREIGHT CAR.

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

243

1884, was county attorney from 1891
to 1897, and has been District Judge
since 1899.

The high estimation in which he is
held is shown by the fact that he has
been in public office practically all his
life and has served longer than any
other man in Dubuque County with
the exceptions of the late D. B. Hen-
derson, Speaker of the House, and
Wm. D. Allison, tbf Father of the Sen-
ate.

He lectures on law at different insti-
tutions and is always in demand for
speeches on special occasions. He has
served on the reception committee of
President McKinley.

He is brother of Dr. Washington
Matthews (sometimes called "Major")
of Washington, D. C, who was Presi-
dent of the American Folk Lore So-
cietv and had charge of the Medical
Department of the Army and Navy and
who was considered the greatest
authority in knowledge of the Indians.

JUDGE MATTHEWS AND A FEW OF HIS MANY
CHILDREN WITH THEIR PET BURRO.

244

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

Long before the Juvenile law was
passed, Judge Matthews was one of
the pioneers in that work.

He is a member of the Iowa Histori-
cal Society and of the American Bar
Association and will soon become a
member of the American Geographi-
cal Society.

The judge spent 1887 and 1888 in
Europe, making careful studies from
the legal and nature loving points of
view. His articles on game and fish
have been published in various maga-
zines.

Taking him altogether, Judge Mat-
thews is one of the best examples I
have met of an enthusiastic, talented,
large-hearted man, leading a simple life
in nearness to the heart of nature. He
is an excellent guide to others in the
fact that to be a man, to live on a high
plane of thought, to be held in high
esteem by his fellow men, one does not
require luxury or ostentation. A big
man can live in a log cabin or in a
freight car. It isn't the coat ; it's the

man.

OUTDOOR WoRLD

Education by Doing — "Park Life."

BY EDWARD F. BIGEL0W, SOUND BEACH,
CONNECTICUT.

It has been said in all truth, in
application to many places, that the
modern tendency in education is to
put the test upon saying things cor-
rectly rather than upon doing things
efficiently.

That actions are stronger than
words, and more important, must have
been uppermost in the mind of Pro-
fessor B. J. Horchem, of the "Park
Life" plan in education, when he con-

ceived the idea which he is carrying
out so successfully and about which
everybody is now asking questions.

Professor Horchem, Principal of the
Audubon School in Dubuque, Iowa, is
regarded as one of the best (some say
the best) of the educators in that large,
growing, hustling, western city. But
the ordinary work of the routine school,
however well he conducts it, is not
enough for him. He maintains that
education is continuous — that the best
vacation is not vacuity but a change
of activities. And the boys under his

PUTTING UP THE TENTS, EASILY AND IN GOOD ORDER.

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

245

"THE TENTS ARE UP; NOW LET'S PUT IN THE BEDS AND ARRANGE THINGS.

charge continue as a loyal little army
persistently through the vacation as
well as through the school months of
the year.

As an outdoor summer home for the
boys Professor Horchem secured one
of the choicest, most beautiful plots
of ground in all the course of the Mis-
sissippi. The enterprise, public spirit
and personal influence of Judge Shiras
has secured for Dubuque "Eagle Point

Park," on the noble bluff overlook-
ing the great river. Immediately ad-
joining this magnificent pleasure
ground, which could scarcely be dupli-
cated in a thousand miles, are the
acres which have thus been consecra-
ted to "Park Life." Here is the garden,
where corn, tomatoes and potatoes
grow ; where fruit trees and shade trees
and hedges are planted ; where the
boys, in light, summer garb, swing the

"CHUMS" IN ONE OF THE SMALLER TENTS AT THE LEISURE HOUR.

246

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A JOLLY LOT OF YOUNGSTERS IN ONE OF THE LARGEST TEXTS.

hoe and pull the weeds and watch the
fruition of their labor. Here is their
tool house, as a rendezvous. Fre-
quently the boys sleep in their tents
spread in the park or in the fields.

The professor has not forgotten that
all work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy and that it does not mean even
the best work. The work in the fields
is therefore interspersed with open air

talks on educational and "live" topics,
when the boys live in tents and from
time to time move from farmhouse to
farmhouse, and with occasional excur-
sions to scenes of popular interest.

Once, last summer, "Park Life"
boys visited the Government Fish
Hatcheries at Spring Brook, Iowa.
Here they studied the living fishes in
the shallow tanks spread out before

LISTENING TO A LECTURE ON CORN.

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

247

the class like the pages of an atlas.
They saw the fishes just emerging
from the egg; those a trifle older; those
more and more developed, and then the
superh, full-thrown specimens. Here
they heard the last word of science re-
lating" to the fish and its place in the
world of nature ; its structure and mode
of growth ; its importance in the world
of economics.

Beside their tents on a rolling field,
within sight of waving corn, they lis-
tened to the "story of the corn," as re-

grows apace. As long as leading men
and women of America in many lines
are glad to offer their best services in
aid of the work, it will not lack for in-
tellectual aid and inspiration; and since
philanthropic men are disposed to aid
it with the very-much-needed meansv
"Park Life" will enter upon its third
year with the brightest of prospects.

The midsummer encampment of the
"Park Life" boys is a season of special
enjoyment. The boys pitch their own
tents, or stake them, with remarkable

AT THE HOME OF A PROMINENT FARMER NEAR THE ENCAMPMENT.

lated by an authority of national fame.
Beside a celebrated Indian mound of
AYisconsin they learned the simple
story of primeval life, as mutely re-
corded in the relics of a vanished
people. Around the evening camo fire,
the}- heard stories of the war. Under
the branches of the forest trees, they
learned some of the great truths dem-
onstrated in modern botanv.

The acres adjoining Eagle Point
Park are to be supplemented by ad-
ditional purchases now under advise-
ment, and the excursions for the com-
ing year are to be extended, for the
scope of the "Park Life" movement

dexterity and speed, with little or no
talk, with no shouting of orders. Dr.
Skinner, of Chicago, who has wit-
nessed many a competitive military
drill, was most surprised at the auto-
matic and almost magical disappear-
ance and reappearance of the rows of
tents. Divisions of labor renders labor
light. There is ample time for ball
games and explorations of field and
forest, river banks, etc.

A representative of Ames College
gave a most interesting picture and
thoroughly scientific exposition of In-
dian corn, not only from the economic
but also from the botanical point of

248

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

view. In all the lectures and open air
talks, practically philosophy mingled
with science. The Honorable George
H. Maxwell, of Chicago, told the boys
of the possible betterment of home
surroundings; the editor of The Guide
to Nature added more home truth ;
many thinkers, writers and speakers of
note contributed to the oral work of
the past season.

Professor Horchem is a pioneer in a
great new education. The educational

welfare of the future, a preventive of
loss to the body politic in the coming
generation. As such, it is deserving of
the support of the public, and would
be a most legitimate recipient of public
funds for its maintenance. It is worthy
of note that "Park Life" has to a re-
markable extent attracted the atten-
tion and received the warm commen-
dation of jurists of high rank, as well
as of educators throughout the nation.
The noted Judge O. P. Shiras, of

THE VIEW OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM THE "PARK LIFE" GARDEN.

press of the nation speaks of it in
terms of highest praise. Many cities
are inquiring about it. The departure
is radical, in its way. It bids fair to
prove as practical as Dr. Leipziger's,
New York City, scheme for the edu-
cation of adults, and to prove as
worthy of support from public funds.
At present it rests only upon the
unbounded energy of Professor Hor-
chem and the aid generously given by
public spirited private citizens of Du-
buque. Judge Matthews holds that
the scheme is a species of "social in-
surance"— a guaranty for the social

the Federal bench (retired), Judge
Lacy, Judge Matthews and other jur-
ists of eminence have joined with the
educational and sociological writers
and critics of the country in emphasiz-
ing the value of the ideal and of the
practical results of "Park Life" for the
present and for the future.

Gentlemen of means in Dubuque
have come forward to aid in the work
in its incipiency, supplementing the
words of the eminent jurists and edu-
cators, and the future of "Park Life"
seems to be well assured. But such
an enterprise, as a matter of "social in-

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

249

surance," should be placed on the firm
basis of public support.

The only criticism of Professor Hor-
chem's plan thus far is that it con-
siders the boys only. What of the
girls? Are they to have no "Park
Life" of their own? Assuredly not the
same kind of "Park Life" as that of the
boys. But Professor Horchem's plan
is not yet fully shown — perhaps not
fully wrought out, as yet, in his own
mind. Let him perfect and exemplify
to the nation his plan for the boys first,
and then listen to what he may say for
the girls ; for they are no less the ob-
jects of his interest and solicitude.

The plan should and will be ex-
tended to girls, men and women. Na-
ture and her education and recreation
are for all. Let us have a school of
"Park Life" for all in every town, city
and village in the United States. The
middle of the pond is the best place
to throw a stone for the largest circling
waves in every direction. Dubuque,
Iowa, is well situated as a center for
great rolling waves of the Horchem
idea. May they reach even old New
England. The Horchem "Park Life"
idea is a fact, a success ; it is growing
and will spread. The whole project
has been at once regarded as whole-
some, eminently sane and practical.

Leaves Change Color in the Autumn.

BY PROFESSOR WM. F. GANONG, NORTH-
AMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Despite the prominence of the phe-
nomenon, we do not yet know the full
meaning of the autumn colors of the
leaves. We do know that late in
the summer the tree is preparing for
the leaf fall by drawing the valuable
substances of the leaf into the stem.
It also ceases to make chlorophyl, the
green substance of the leaf which aids
in the making of the plant's food, and
this gradually fades away in the bright
light. By fading it exposes to view any
other colors in the leaf, and all leaves
contain yellow coloring matters, called
xanthophyl, whose function is not
known, and it is these which give the
yellow of autumn leaves. The red is
found in a different way. In bright
light and cool temperature a new sub-

stance called erythrophyl is made from
sugar and tannin in the leaf cells, and
that has a red color. A brown sub-
stance is also sometimes formed and,
besides, the skeleton of the leaf itself
turns brown as the leaf dies. It is the
various combinations of these substan-
ces which give the many shades of
autumn colors. Some students think
these colors are a useful protection to
the living protoplasm of the leaf after
the green disappears, protecting it
against the full blaze of light which is
injurious, but others think the colors
have no use at all but are simply the
incidental chemical result of the pro-
cesses in the ripening and dying leaf.
At present the evidence seems to favor
the latter view, but the matter is still
11 isettled. It is generally thought that
frost has something to do with it ; but
it has not, except to hasten it. Any-
thing which affects the vitality of the
leaf tends to hasten it; for which rea-
son an injured branch of a maple will
often show red autumn color even in
summer. The colors are the brightest
where the leaves receive the most bril-
liant sunlight.

I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse,
and a turtle-dove, and am still on their
trail. Many are the travelers I have
spoken concerning them, describing
their tracks and what calls they an-
swered to. I have met one or two who
had heard the hound, and the tramp of
the horse, and even seen the dove dis-
appear behind a cloud, and they seemed
as anxious to recover them as if they
had lost them themselves. — "Walden."

NOVEMBER'S DIRGE.

A spirit haunts the year's last hours,
Dwelling amid these yellowing bowers:

To himself he talks.
For at eventide, listening earnestly,
At his work you may hear him sob and
sigh,

In the walks.

Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks

Of the mouldering flowers;

Heavily hangs the broad sun-flower;

Over its grave in the earth so chilly;
Heavily hangs the hollyhock,
Heavily hangs the tiger lily.

— Tennyson.

250

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

rePU15\R.?KSrReN6MY

The Heavens for December.

BY PROF. S. ALFRED MITCHELL, OF COLUM-
BIA UNIVERSITY.

Halley's Comet gives every promise
of being in many wa3rs a remarkable
comet. That it should return accord-
ing to prediction was a foregone con-
clusion, for mathematical astronomy
admits of no mistakes. Since its re-
discovery on September n, astrono-
mers have been carefully measuring its
position in the sky, and again calcula-
ting its path in order to find out just
how near it will come to the earth, and
when it will pass closest to the sun.
Though these newer computations are
as yet but preliminary, they seem to
show that early in May the comet will
come very close to the earth, and conse-
quently it should present a magnifi-
cent spectacle in the sky, ' a brilliant
object with a long flowing tale possi-
bly 300 in length, as long as sixty full
moons, or stretching one-third of the
distance from the horizon to the zenith.
More than this, it seems altogether
likely that the comet will cross the
face of the sun, and that we on the
earth will pass through the tail of the
comet. This does not mean, of course,
that the world is coming to an end
(for there is not the remotest possi-
bility of it), but it will add to the in-
terest attaching to the comet; more-
over, it will require no great telescope
to bring this magnificent spectacle to
our ken, and in May 1910, the comet
will undoubtedly present a very won-
derful sight which one and all may
readily see. Just at the present time
the average person would be keenly
disappointed if a great telescope could
be placed at his disposal to view the
comet, which cannot now be seen in
a glass smaller than twelve inches in
diameter. If a professional astrono-

mer could pick up the comet and set
the telescope on it, there would be
presented no long tail, but simply a
faint fuzzy star and it would probably
need all the persuasion of the astrono-
mer to convince the other person that
it was really the celebrated comet that
he was looking at. On October 19,
Professor Barnard, using the great 40-
inch Yerkes telescope, describes the
comet as "not fainter than the 13^
magnitude, about fifteen seconds of
arc in diameter, indefinite brightening
in the middle, but with no elongation."
But the comet is rushing towards us
with enormous speed, and on the first
of December it is nearly half a million
miles nearer than it was twenty-four
hours previous.

The great interest attaching to this
celebrated object caused many as-
tronomers to calculate its path about
the sun to predict its place in the sky.
As is well known, the comet goes
about the sun as its centre of motion
for the same reason that the earth jour-
neys once a year in its orbit, and the
reason is that it is compelled to do so
by the attraction of gravity. When
Dr. Halley first predicted the return
of the comet bearing his name little
was known of the art of calculating an
orbit, nor was the mathematics of the
day hardly sufficient to handle the
problem. In the two hundred years
since then wonderful advances have
been made in mathematical astronomy,
so that at the present time, if an as-
tronomer is furnished with the posi-
tions of the comet on but three sepra-
ate nights he is able to calculate its
orbit and predict its future path. If
the comet returns to visit the earth
its path is a closed curve, an ellipse,
with the sun placed at one focus.

As may be readilv seen, if the three

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

251

nights which furnish the observations
are close together the three positions
would lie almost in a straight line and
the calculated curve would have no
high degree of accuracy. If the obser-
vations are separated more and more
the resulting orbit comes out more ac-
curately. Amassing all the observa-
tions of the comet at its last appear-
ance in 1835, the astronomers have
been able to trace its path out into the

of these "perturbations," as they are
called, were quite simple, for the 1835
return, but very difficult for the pres-
ent appearance, due to the near ap-
proach to Jupiter, and the result is that
the many published orbits differ quite
considerably. The two that most
closely represent the comet's path are
one by Cowell and Crommelin, of the
Greenwich observatory, the other by
Dr. J. Floletschek, of France, each of

Dec. MOON PHASES
LastQ'tr..Dec.4.
New Moon Dec.I2.
First Q.'tr.,Dex. 19.
Full Moon TJec.26.

Evening SkyM ap for December

vBy Jrof.

urn f *

Column
Univers^

FACE SOUTH' AND
HOLD THE MAP OVER
YOUR HEAD-THE TOP
NORTH. AND YOU WILL SEE
THE STARS ANDPLANETS
JUST AS THEY APPEAR
INTHE HEAVENS.

S0UTH

■POSITION OF VENUS
IN EABLY 'WESTERN) EveN;
ING SKY IN DECEMBER.

depth of space beyond the outermost
planet of the solar system, Neptune.

If the sun and the comet were the
only bodies in the solar system, the
comet would travel around the sun in
a perfect ellipse, but Jupiter, Saturn
and the other planets all exert their
influences and pull the comet out of
its ellipse with forces depending on
the masses of the planets and its dis-
tances from them. The calculations

them giving the time of passage about
the sun within three days.

The Rev. Father George M. Searle,
Supervisor General of the Paulist
Fathers of New York City, has calcu-
lated from the English orbit that on
the night of May 18 the comet will
come nearest the earth, when it will
be 14,000,000 miles away. The comet
will probably travel across the face of
the sun, but there is no danger of the

252

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

comet striking the earth or the sun,
seeing that it is so far away from both.
We may, however, pass through its tail,
which may cause certain imaginative
persons to foretell that the earth will
be visited with disease and pestilence,
for, does not the comet's tail consist
of hydro-carbons and are not some
compounds of carbon and hydrogen
very poisonous? As the tail consists
of matter in a finely divided stale, al-
ways directed away from the sun, it is
probable that we will have no more
serious a catastrophe than a shower
of meteors. The ephemeris follows :

Right Decli- Magni

Date Ascentions nation tude

Dec. i 4I1 26m 56s + 15 ° 52 12.0

6 4 6 13 15 23 11. 8

11 3 44 24 14 45 1 1.6

16 3 22 19 14 11.4

21 3 o 34 13 18 1 1.3

26 2 40 11 12 28 1 1.2

A glance at the magnitudes shows
that it will soon be visible in a six-
inch telescope.

THE PLANETS.

Mercury will be invisible during the
month, being too near the sun. Venus
reaches its greatest elongation from
the sun on the second of the month,
but it still continues to increase in
brightness. The planet has been so
far south of the equator at this elonga-
tion that it has not been as remarkable
an object as it usually is. Though
Mars is increasing its distance from
the earth the astronomers are still in-
tently watching it. Early in the sum-
mer Mars showed so little detail that
the British Astronomical Association
feared that a catastrophe had happen-
ed on Mars, and that all life there was
extinct. On the contrary, according
to the observations of Jouckheere, and
Jarry-Deloges in Europe, and Lowell
in America, a great man, new canals
are appearing, and frequent changes
are taking place on the ruddy planet.
Mars is moving northeast, and at the
end of the month will be in Pisces 30
12/ north of Saturn. The rings of
Saturn now present a fine sight in a
small telescope ; we are looking at the
southern side of them and we are io°

from their plane. Jupiter is a morn-
ing star, not rising till after two o'clock.
Uranus is too near the sun, but those
who have a powerful enough tele-
scope may see Neptune during the lat-
ter half of the night in Gemini.

CONSTELLATIONS.

As usual, the map shows the constel-
lations, the most magnificent in the
whole heavens, as they appear at seven
o'clock on the first of the month, at
eight o'clock at the middle and at 9
P. M., at the end of the month.

There will be an eclipse of the Sun
on December 12, but it will not be visi-
ble in the United States.

The Winter Brooklet.
When you know any brooklet that
runs down a hillside, be sure to go and
take a look at him. You will never
find him so cheerful.

As he shrank away after the last
thaw, he built for himself the most ex-
auisite caverns of ice to run through,
if not "measureless to man" like those
of Alph, the sacred river, yet perhaps
more pleasing for their narrowness than
those for their granduer. What a cun-
ning silversmith is Frost ! The rarest
workmanship of Delhi or Genoa copies
him but clumsily, as if the fingers of
all other artists were thumbs. Fern-
work and lacework and filagree in end-
less variety, and under it all the water
tinkles like a distant guitar, or drums
like a tambourine, or gurgles like the
Tokay of an anchorite's dream. Beyond
doubt there is a fairy procession march-
ing along those frail arcades and trans-
lucent corridors.

''Their oaten pipes blow wondrous
shrill.

The hemlock small blow clear."

— James Russell Lowell.

Henry David Thoreau and His Views
of Nature.

A man of such deep, underlying
tenderness as puts to shame all sur-
face emotionalism, and of so sweet and
lofty a serenity, so exquisite a purity
and so complete a truthfulness, that
earth seems a fitter dwelling-place for
all the virtues because he shared its
life. — Mary Fisher in "A General Sur-
vev of American Literature."

AQUARIUM.

253

Under the Auspices of The Aquarium Society of Philadelphia, Herman T. Wolf, Editor

The Household Aquarium and Its
Inmates and Management.

COPYRIGHTED BY HERMAN T. WOLF,

AUTHOR OF "GOLDFISH BREEDS AND THE

OTHER AQUARIUM FISHES."

PART II.

Aquarium Plants. The purpose of
aquatic plants in the freshwater aquarium
is not only to add to the beauty of this
miniature water garden but also to ful-
fill important functions in maintaining
an equilibrium or balance, so that the
animals will live in comfort and the
aquarium be virtually self-sustaining, as
is the natural aquarium, the pond and
stream.

The oxygen necessary to sustain the
life of aquatic animals is not that which
forms a chemical constituent of water,
(H2O), but that which is in the air
dissolved or held in suspension in the
water. In ponds and streams, the wave
motion on the water surface supplies the
greater part of this suspended or dis-
solved air, but in the confines of the
aquarium, surface aeration is insuffi-
cient and air must either be artifically
admitted or furnished by the breathing
of aquatic nlants.

As stated in the previous article, plants
in their growth liberate oxygen and take
up the carbonic acid gas given off by
the living creatures ; and the animals, in
their turn, require the oxygen and give
off carbonic acid gas ; so that if the plant
and animal life is in balance, the quality
of the water will remain nearly the same
for long periods. It is better, however,
to have a preponderance of the oxygen
liberating element present and only as
much animal life as will live in comfort.
The olants which best perform this
function have been mentioned ; it is now
in order to brieflv describe them that

they may be recognized; which will be
done in the order in which they best per-
form this duty.

Arrowhead or Sagittaria. A small
genus of variable plants, reduced by
Micheli to 13 species; perennials of easy
culture, propagated by seed and runners
and growing on the muddy bottom of
ponds and streams.

They have arrowshaped leaves and
small buttercuplike flowers, which reach
above the surface of the water. In
rapid streams the leaf blades are changed
either to the form of a spade or length-
ened into limp ribbonlike floating bands,
which extend above the water only in
the flowering season. Some of the
species develop broader floral leaves and
are submerged at other seasons. These
are Sagittaria natans and S. pusilla, one
broad and the other narrower leaved,
and 5". sinensis or 5\ gigantea the giant
aquarium Sagittaria. They may be had
of dealers. The first two are the best
of all oxygenators, the latter also good
but more likely to grow above the water
surface, when its active and beneficial
function ceases

Eel grass or Vallisneria. A single
universally distributed species also known
as Tape-grass or Wild celery, Vallis-
neria spiralis, which grows in fresh,
brackish and salt water, from a rooted
tuft, having the bluntly pointed narrow
leaves of the same width their entire
length, one to ten feet long, dependent
upon the depth of the water. The young
plants are most likely to survive in the
aquarium. May be found in almost
every stream or can be had of dealers.
The cultivated variety, V. spiralis gigan-
tea, having V2 inch broad and 3 feet long
leaves is more generally used by expert
aquariists.

254

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Watershield or Cabomba. A genus of
three species, native to the warmer parts
of America ; a submerged weak-stemmed
plant with finely divided fanshaped leaves
and tiny white and yellow flowers, grow-
ing in the mud in shallow water and ex-
tensively cultivated as an aquarium plant.
The species usually to be obtained is
Cabomba caroliniana, the hardiest and
easiest propagated. C. rosaefolia has a
red stalk and darker green, more finely
dissected leaves, and C. aquatica is a
recently introduced, more robust, tropical
species.

Ditch moss or Anacharis. A moss-
like almost universally distributed Ameri-
can plant, known by a number of local
names and so variable in leaves that a
number of species have been founded
thereon, bat recently all have been re-
ferred to the one species, Anacharis cana-
densis. It has a thick jointed stem and
leaves of variable length y2 to iJ/2 inches
long, in whorls of 4 and 8 about the
weak and branching stems. It grows
very rapidly and is a good generator of
oxygen, to be found in almost every
ditch, pond or stream. A. canadensis
gigantca is a recently developed larger
aquarium variety generally to be had of
dealers.

Water Milfoil and Parrot's Feath-
er. These plants are common in
most ponds and not too rapid waters of
the middle and southern sections of the
United States. Of the former, the weak
stems are surrounded by whorls of finely
divided bright green vounger and dark
green and brown older leaves, growing
on a mud or sand bottom and having in-
conspicuous white flowerets. The three
common species are Myriophyllum spica-
tum, M. virticillatum and M. alternifolia.
Parrot's feather or Chilian water-milfoil,
M. proscrpinacoides, is an introduced,
nearly related species which has the ten-
dency to grow above the water and whose
use in the aquarium is more for ornament
than utility. It should never be used in
ponds.

Swamp loosestrife or Ludwigia. A
genus of about 25 species of aquatic and
semi-aquatic plants native to the warmer
parts of the United States; recumbent
in shallow water or rooted in swamps
and the margins of natural waters.
There are nine species in the Eastern

and Middle States, of which the marsh
purslain, Litdzvigia palustris, the globe-
fruited Ludwigia, L. glandulosa, and the
Alternate-leaved Ludwigia, L. alterni-
folia, are the most common and more
generally used in the aquarium as they
all thrive fairly well submerged, but ex-
perienced aquariists prefer the beautiful
tropical species, L. mulcrttii, with lance-
oblong leaves, bright green on the upper
and clear red upon the lower sides, a
very graceful and ornamental plant and
a fair generator of oxygen.

Stoneworts. A large family of
dainty aquatic plants, all fair oxygena-
tors and generally distributed through-
out the United States. Of these Nitella
is more likely to survive in the aquarium
than Chara, though both are nearly re-
lated and form the genus Characae. They
all have more or less finely divided leaves
about weak stems bearing spores and
fruitlets either in the axils or in the
middle of the slender branching leaves.
Nitella gracilis and Ar. flexilis have thin
hairlike leaves upon delicate flexible
stems, and Chara gymnopus and C.
crimita more densely clustered and ro-
bust leaves and stems. Their growth is
very rapid and their appearance in the
aquarium interesting.

Riverweed or Potamogeton. This
widely distributed aquatic plant, of which
40 species and sub-species have been de-
termined, has three or four which are
desirable aquarium plants and thrive
fairly well, though not as good oxygena-
tors as those previously mentioned. The
curled-leaved species Potamogeton cris-
tas, the clasping-leaved P. perfoliatum
and the close-leaved P. densns, are ex-
tensively introduced and are prized for
their fine colors, languid habits and in-
teresting appearance. They are all
wholly submerged aquatics which occur
abundantly in almost all natural waters,
ponds, ditches and streams.

These are about all the more desirable
aquarium plants, a selection of most of
which may be either obtained in their
natural situations or obtained from
dealers. All but Sagittaria and Vallis-
neria will grow without roots when set
in the sand and pebbles, the mentioned
two should be planted in shallow pots
containing soil covered with pebbles.

AQUARIUM.

255

The other aquatics, previously men-
tioned, add beauty and variety to' the
plant life of the aquarium, but are in-
ferior generators of oxygen, for which
reason no dependence can be placed on
them to maintain the required balance
between plant and animal life.

An Inquiry as to Fish Ponds.

Springfield, Ohio.
To the "Aquarium" Editor:

Enclosed please find plot of three
ponds. They were built last fall, Octo-
ber, 1908. I put from forty to sixty select-
ed goldfish in each pond last Novem-
ber. The fish were from four to six
inches ; one pond fan tails, two ponds
comets. I bought your book on "Gold-
fish Breeds and Other Aquarium
Fishes" through a local bookstore. I
enjoyed it and felt that I had a good
outfit. I find now that I have no young
fish. The ponds are a distance in the
country and I did not visit them often ;
did not feed beyond a little wafer at
each visit, when they did not then
seem hungry. I never saw any spawn
or young. The breeders have grown
to one and one-half times their size
last fall. The kingfishes got some of
them, but I found no snakes, turtles or
crawfish though I did find some frogs
in the ponds. Can you explain for
me the reasons why I. did not get any
young fish and advise me how to cor-
rect the trouble before another season
or direct me to whom I shall write?
Yours respectfully,

H. N. S.

Your pond arrangement is good ;
shade is beneficial but not imperatively
necessary ; the water supply is abun-
dant and the selected fishes easily bred.

Your ponds probably lack sufficient
aquatic vegetation ; you feed too little
and at too great intervals and have too
many breeders in each pond. A better
practice would be to turn in four selec-
ted females and six males after a con-
siderable jungle of aquatic plants has
grown. Where there are so many
breeding fishes insufficiently fed they
will at once eat the spawn or devour
the young. Where there is much vege-
tation they cannot so easily find these
and many will survive, if no other pre-
cautions are taken. Feeding at long

intervals made the fishes ravenously
hungry and they ate everything that they
could swallow.

Plant abundant giant anacharis, myrio-
phyllum, lilies, potamogeton and, if the
climate is moderate in your section,
cabomba; principally in shoal water
about the edges of the ponds, leaving
the centres clear and also part of one
side or a corner for a convenient feed-
ing place.

Young fishes require the small crus-
taceans of fresh water, daphnia, Cy-
clops, cypris, etc., and for the mature
fishes a mixture of corn meal, oatmeal
and shredded fish boiled a long time
and fed either fresh or dried.

Erect posts about four feet high

around and between the ponds on

which fasten muskrat traps to catch

predatory birds when they alight, and

patrol the ponds with a shotgun to

kill frogs, snakes, minks, muskrats,

etc

H. T. W.

Some Aquarium Suggestions.

Duluth, Minn.
To the Editor:

On reading the interesting and in-
structive article on the household
aquarium, the recommendation of
snails, tadpoles and mussels recalls the
classic remark that "If you like that
sort of thing, it is just about the sort
of thing you would like" — but some
don't. The writer frequently has what
might be termed a "natural aquarium"
containing snails, tadpoles, mussels or
crayfish, as well as the smaller deni-
zens of local ponds and streams, and
finds much pleasure in them ; but when
it comes to combining them with gold-
fish— not any in mine. And as there
are some others similarly minded, the
following suggestions are given for
their consolation — being intended mere-
ly as a supplement to Editor Wolf's
valuable instructions, and not in any
sense as a criticism.

The writer has kept goldfish for over
15 years, and has had good success —
the star of my present collection hav-
ing been over 10 years in my posses-
sion. Of course I have lost some fish,
before and since acquiring that one,
but most of them last for a number of

256

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

years, increasing in beauty, if not in
size. The 10-year specimen is a pearl
comet, with body three inches long
and a tail as long as his body ; with
ventral fins one and one quarter
inches in length and the others
in proportion, and with double anal
fins ; and I think any fish enthusiast,
watching the fairy-like grace and
beauty of that fluff of filmy white
draperies, would resent, as I should,
the impertinence of a wriggling black
tadpole in the same field of vision.
And they can be dispensed with if one
has a mind to act as their own Health
Department.

My aquarium is, of course, a
balanced one as regards plants and
fish, but contains no scavengers. Five
minutes judicious use of the glass dip-
tube, each morning before feeding, ef-
fectually removes all sediment, offal,
etc., and there is no need to have any
refuse food. A little care in feeding
soon enables one to determine just
what amount of food should be given
each day, my own rule being never to
give more than the fish will clean up
in five minutes, and feed only once a
day, preferably in the morning. Sunday
is a fast day, with mine, as they are at
present in my down-town office.

The cleaning of the glass, in the
snailless aquarium, is easily accom-
plished with a small sponge, occasion-
ally rubbed over the glass to take off
the plant growth, rubbing carefully
over a small section of the glass and
then squeezing the sponge in clean
water before doing the next section.
This will not need to be done very
often unless the aquarium is in too
strong sunlight. My experience has
been that very little trouble is ever had
with rotifera, parasites, etc., if the
water is kept slightly salt, rock salt
being preferable to table salt.

If the fish are kept merely to amuse
little children, the cheap common fish
answer every purpose, but if they are
the pastime of adults, who are willing
to give the care and attention they
need (and it is very little), I wish to
earnestly recommend the keeping of
fancy fish exclusively, both longtails
and fantails, as they are not only beau-

tiful, but have the added interest of
change and growth in that beauty. In
a small aquarium the fish increase but
little in size, and the common fish, with
no tendency toward freak growth, do
not change at all, merely growing old
and experienced if conditions are
favorable ; but if one can keep the fancy
fish healthy and happy, their beautiful
fins increase in length, until one has
fish which cannot be obtained for love
or money in any small market. Oc-
casionally one gets a fantail or long-
tail which seems to have reached its
maximum growth of fin very early and
does not perceptibly change, but these
are rare and can be weeded out of the
collection if they fail to "deliver the
goods."

Another important item, for those
having rare and expensive fish, is the
quarantining of all new arrivals until
satisfied that they are healthy. My
way is to put them in a fairly salt
bath for a short time, watching them
carefully for signs of distress, and then
diluting the water until but slightly
salt and leaving the fish by themselves
for a few days. The salt bath is an ef-
fectual, but safe, remedy for the fungus
growth which is so apt to attack fish
which have been over-crowded in ship-
ping and storage, and a few days' ob-
servation will usually enable one to
determine whether the fish are in con-
dition to be safely introduced into the
aquarium. It is also well to put plants
in a weak salt bath for a day or so
before using.

Will Editor Wolf kindly answer the
query: Is the spawn of the common
water snails (eggs and jelly sheath)
desirable as an occasional feed for
goldfish? In some localities it is more
easily procured than mosquito larvae.
Nellie B. Pendergast.

The commonplace is the grandest of
all things ; that the exceptional in any
line is no finer, better, or more beau-
tiful than the usual, and that what is
really wanting is not that we should
possess something we have not at pres-
ent, but that our eyes should be opened
to see and our hearts to feel what we
all have.— Dr. R. M. Bucke.

DOMESTICATED NATURE.

257

Domesticated

1//-

NATURE

Ideal Investigation of Bird Life.

"Is it wrong' or cruel to keep birds in
cages?"

The wrong or right depends alto-
gether upon the purpose, and the
cruelty or the absence of it depends
upon the method and care. In motives
and methods the ideal has been attained
by The Worthington Society of Shaw-
nee-on-Delaware, Monroe County,
Pennsylvania. Mr. Charles C. Worth-
ington has intense love of birds and
abundant means for making that love
efficient. His manager. Mr. Charles W.
Miller, is an enthusiastic worker, in
fact a veritable hustler, whose enthusi-
asm is manifested in best scientific

methods. He knows how to do it, what
is to be sought, and then he spares no
effort to attain the desired results.

His first assistant, Miss Cheney, is
as gentle and shy as a goldfinch, and
comes and goes through the maze of
cages as noiselessly as does the owl
through the forest. Her voice is low
and sweet in striking contrast to her
tiny pets which she feeds as regularly
and faithfully as would a mother bird.
The little ones are always clamorously
appreciative of the insect or the myste-
rious mixture compounded from a vari-
ety of bins, bottles and baskets by Mr.
Miller. Even the man-of-all-work and
the boy who chases insects all dav long-

fcrfss .'x VMl

AS ONE APPPROACHES THE DOOR A PARROT CALLS CHEERILY, "HOW D'Y' DO?"

258

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A VIEW FROM THE MAIN ROAD.

with a net fit in the perfect scheme of
care and study of birds.

It was thus a busy and yet harmo-
nious place that I found after four miles
of dusty road from Delaware Water
Gap (four hours from Hoboken on the
Delaware and Lackawanna Railroad)
up over the hills to Shawnee-on-Dela-
ware.

Here is a bird home, not a bird prison.
The cages are large. The ground is as
grassy as that of the fields in the valley,
and small trees and shrubbery grow
within the cages as luxuriantly and
naturally, even if not so large, as in the

supplemental grounds of ten thousand
mountain acres of forest and fields.
This extensive territory is utilized in
the study of birds in their native hab-
itat. The cages are the apartments of
a luxurious bird hotel for the special
care of those who become more inti-
mately acquainted.

The establishment was started in
September, 1904, with a nucleus of Mr.
Earl Dodge Scott's private collection of
live birds moved from Princeton Col-
lege. Mr. Scott was curator of the
Museum at Princeton. The caged birds
were his personal hobby and property.

THE CAGES THAT ARE IDEAL BIRD HOMES.

DOMESTICATED NATURE.

259

MISS CHENEY FEEDING THE FLICKERS ON
THE FENCE. .

He had some two hundred or three
hundred specimens picked up at bird
stores or trapped or reared from the
egg. Many of these were foreign. The
plant is now devoted mostly to native
birds. In July, 1905, Mr. Miller came
from Clark University to assist Mr.
Scott who left in September, 1906, leav-
ing the entire management with Mr.
Miller. The collection now consists of
about one thousand birds comprising
one hundred varieties.

The purpose of the Worthington
Society may be brieflv given as three-
fold:

First — The scientific study of birds
and bird life, embracing biological,
psychological, and economic problems
connected with birds.

Second — The acquisition and mainte-
nance of as complete a collection of live
native birds as is practicable to keep in
captivity, thereby affording the student
of ornithology an opportunity to pursue
his observations and research with the

aid of live birds instead of with the
dead specimens usually provided by
museums for this purpose.

Third — The stimulation ot a more
thoughtful interest on the part of the
public regarding birds and their charm
and usefulness to mankind.

It is generally conceded that bird life
presents a vast amount of material for
investigation both from a scientific and
economic point of view. The intimate
bearing of bird life upon agricultural
interests is now well understood and in
itself affords an infinite field for the
observation and research of the nature
student. Bird life with its variety of
forms and colors, habits and habitats,
has so much to do with the welfare of
man that no scientist need be at loss for
problems to solve, relations to adjust,
or deductions to make, with the quan-
tity of material that this large family
offers.

• Important work to be carried on by
this Society is along the line of experi-
ments in evolution. One of the chief
difficulties hitherto met with in this

' "*>».

i%$&$&Ms

A FLICKER GETS INTO THE DISH.

260

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

MR. MILLER FEEDING A BLUE JAY.

work has been that of keeping insectiv-
orous and many of the seed-eating
birds, in good health and spirits while
in captivity. This problem is receiving
the careful attention of the Society, as
is also the housing of birds in all sea-
sons of the year in surroundings as
nearly like those of their natural en-
vironment as can be devised. It is
pleasant to discover that, under their
system and methods, the mortality
among the birds is very small and the
general health excellent, in striking
contrast with the conditions and results
observed in many of the Zoological
Collections where less attention must
necessarily be given to details of their
care.

Nor is the work confined by any
means to the aviaries. The migration,
nesting and general habits of our native
birds in the vicinity, are under observa-
tion and records are made.

While the collection of native species
is by no means complete as yet, it is a

fairly representative one and is being
constantly enlarged. Additions to the
bird family are made in three ways :
First, by trapping wild birds ; second,
by rearing by hand young birds taken
from nests found outside ; and third,
by the natural increase of those already
in the collection. While the rearing of
young wild birds by hand entails a
great deal of extra work upon the at-
tendants, it is more satisfactory than
trapping the old ones, as the birds thus
raised are always tamer and more
tractable.

Among the special things the Society
is now investigating are the following:

i. The colonization of birds in cer-
tain regions where they have been
driven out by English sparrows or
other causes or have left on account of
lack of breeding places.

2. The life history of a certain para-
sitic fly, the larvae of which inhabit
birds' nests and feed to a certain extent
on young birds.

3. Hybridism and fertility of hy-

TWO VERY INTIMATE PETS.

DOM ESTICATED NAT U k K.

261

brids. — Experiments on certain hybrid
doves and thrushes they have produced.

4. The inheritance of variations. —
The inheritance of a peculiar variation
in the color of eggs of the bluebird.

5. Breeding and nesting habits of
certain native birds illustrated by ex-
periments within their cages.

6. The growth of birds. — A study of
the growth and development of the
young of a typical species with notes
on the psychology of nestlings. The
relation of daily food to daily body
growth.

7. The popularization of the bird
protection and colonization idea.

Much of the success of the experi-
ments and the comfort of the birds have
been due to the food mixtures that are
carefully prepared from formulae com-
piled on studied theories and extensive
practice. The seeds for these varied
recipes are obtained from the well

AN INGENIOUS ACETYLENK LIGHT DEVICE
FOR CATCHING INSECTS.

known and long established house of
M. A. McAllister, 67-69 Cortlandt
Street, New York City.

Rambles for Nature Interests.

Is there anything more delightful
than the fatigue of an afternoon's long
ramble after objects one loves? You
are not tired of them, but with them.
It is a delicious fatigue. Subsequent
years of trouble cannot obliterate the
charmed impressions. fhey are the
sunniest spots in one's memory. Their
recollections come, like angel's visits,
to unconsciously relieve us in after-
years of many a sad trouble and trial.
They should be laid up in store when
you are young, so that they can be
drawn upon when you are old. Then
•the sunshine of youth is stored to gild
the troubled days of matured manhood
and the darker shadows of old age.
— The Plavtime Naturalist

MR.

Glorifying the Commonplace.

But it is only the GREAT poet who
has the courage and the power so to
see things. It is only a Homer or a
Whitman who will pass by the pomp
and circumstance of life to glorify some
mean and "vulgar" thing — as the part-
ing sun will sometimes turn and speed
over the shoulder of the world an ar-
row dipped in gold to set ablaze the
windows of some mountain cottage, or
burn a needle's eye through the slender
village spire, leaving the casements of
the proud palaces in the plain all blank
worthington fondling a pet hawk. anci undistinguished.— Kennedy.

262

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

• ^VAVAVAVAVAVAVAV/LyAV^VAVAYAYAVAYAVAY^^VAVA'VXVAVAVAVAyxvA^

yywywwwwwwwwuwwyyw

ipCK&xxyxxxxK&xxttXxaxjxioctxnzoc^

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR

ETT^OOryrrrinrwrrrinnrrrYr^^ rT^TTriyrrrrniri^irrrrinng^^

■j,yAVAVAVAVAVA.VAnVAVAVAVA.7^VAYAyAVA7A7AVA7AVAVAVAVAVAVAvryr
Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

Quartz.
Quartz is one of the most beautiful
and widely distributed minerals. It has
probably been responsible for the start-
ing of more collections than any other
mineral on account of the two facts

No. 1. QUARTZ CRYSTALS FROM HOT SPRINGS.

stated above. It is almost impossible
to walk anywhere without coming in
contact with it. The sands of the sea-
shore are quartz ; the pebbles found
there and in the ground are mostly
quartz. Almost all minerals have
quartz either attached or in combina-
tion with them. Then there are a great
many different varieties of quartz : rock
crystal, yellow, smoky, milky, ame-
thystine, star quartz, cat's eye, all the
various agates, chalcedony, all the dif-
ferent clear quartz containing other
minerals as rutile, tourmaline, etc., etc.
Space will not permit us to give even
the briefest description of all of them

so we will give a description of only the
few we have pictured here.

No. 1 is a group of transparent quartz
crystals from Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The sharp angles and beautiful natural
polish of these crystals are superior
to any lapidaries' work. They occur
generally in six-sided crystals, but are
sometimes modified. Their termina-
tions are also often modified. The
crystals in this group have but one ter-
mination and are known as singly-ter-
minated crystals.

No. 2 shows a doubly-terminated
milky quartz crystal from Westphalia,
Germany. These crystals are entirely
opaque and the color of milk. They
are also mostly modified in form as this
picture shows.

No. 3 is a quartz geode ; that is, a
nodule more or less rounded in form
which when broken open is found to be
lined with quartz crystals which in this
case are opaque. It is in fact a minia-
ture quartz cave. It is from the Green
River, Iowa, the waters of which had
gradually washed it out from the soil
or softer rock in which it was formed.

No. 4 is an agate from Brazil. This
variety of quartz is probably more ad-
mired by persons who know nothing of
minerals than by the mineralogists
themselves on account of its beautiful
colors and markings. It is also used
more for jewelry than any other variety
of quartz. These high colors and mark-
ings are often taken advantage of in the
cutting of cameos and intaglios by cut-
ting faces or forms so that the different
layers of colors will harmonize with the
subject selected. They are also cut for
rings, scarf pins and watch charms so^
as to show two or more layers of color.
When black and white are shown they

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR.

263

No. 2 (AT LOWER RIGHT) MTLKV QUARTZ CRYSTAL.

are called onyx; when red and white,
sardonyx, and when red only, sard.

The high colors seen in some agates
are not always natural. Sometimes an
ugly agate of an uneven or unattractive

No. 3. QUARTZ GEODE.

color is given a bright red or other
color by boiling in honey and after-
wards in acid or some chemical com-
pound.

No. 4. AGATE FROM BRAZIL.

Grumbling Wrong End First.

"Men grumble because God puts
thorns on roses. Would not it be
better to thank God that he puts roses
on thorns?"

264

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

(pRRESP(OT)ENCE

AND

Information

Cutting a Crow's Tongue to Make It
Talk.

New York Zoological Park,

New York City.
To the Editor: —

I am moved to use strong language
in regard to the question about cutting
a crow's tongue to make it talk. That
is one of the cruelest and most foolish
ideas that has ever been propogated. If
a crow can articulate, it can do better
with the tongue in a normal condition
than with the muscles at the base cut.
It is a relic of medieval superstition
and you should do all in your power
to stamp it as absolutely unnecessary
and terribly cruel.

Yours very truly,

C. William Beebe.

Protective Coloring in the Mud.

Sacramento, California.
To the Editor:

Here is an item that may be
of interest. I have been collect-
ing specimens of the Hemiptera of
this vicinity, among them some of
the toad-shaped bugs or Galgulidac.
I obtained five specimens from the
borrow pit of one of our dredgers
in the tnle marshes west of this city.
The mud here is a gray black and the
little bugs of the same color were al-
most invisible while at rest. Some
time afterward I found a single speci-
men on an irrigation ditch-bank in
the foothills. Here the soil was red-
dish as is common in our Northern
California orange groves, and this
specimen was almost the color of the
dark red soil. I feel quite certain they
are all of the same species. Is this not
an interesting example of variation
along the lines of protective coloring?

Sincerely,

C. M. Goethe.

Strangled by Swallowing a Bunch of
Cord.

Sterling, 111.
To The Editor:

Last Sunday morning my attention
was called to the body of a robin hang-
ing from a string from a nest made on
the angle of one of the water tables
of the tower of the Baptist church.
The position of the nest was fully
twenty-five feet up, which made it
very difficult to reach. The grewsome
sight to leave there, was too much for
the tender feelings of the young peo-
ple. Accordingly, having equipped my-
self with a long pole with an iron hook
lashed at its point, I ascended to the
top of the building and, bending over
the wall and reaching down as far as
I could I succeeded in catching the
string from which the robin was sus-
pended and, giving a gentle pull, dis-
engaged it from the nest, the body of
the unfortunate bird falling to the
ground. The nest was so firmly fas-
tened to the ledge that I did not suc-
ceed in detaching it. I noticed it con-
tained two greenish blue eggs. Upon
examining the bird afterwards to see
how it had been entangled by the string,
I was surprised to find that its head
was free, as also its wings, but the
string was found in its throat. Pulling
the string with some force I drew
from its throat a bunch of the cord,
batted together as large as the end of
my little finger. The condition of the
bird indicated that the tragedy had
taken place several days before. The
wind produced an eddy in the recess
where the bird was hanging, causing
the body to whirl around and around.
The male bird was seen standing upon
the ledge looking down upon the form
of its dead mate, reminding one of the
vigil of Rizpah.

George P. Perry.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

265

'••••••

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

Personal Explanatory Note:— Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing Chap-
ters are represented by this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years
of age) are referred to my department ("Nature and Science") in the '-St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen-
tury Company, New York City.— Edward F. Bigelow.

MOST MERITS FINANCIAL AID.
The Agassiz Association solicits your financial aid in its work of nature,
science and philanthropy on three distinct claims, every one of which will be
proved in detail upon application or opportunity.

1. It is the oldest, most extensive and successful organization of its kind
in existence.

2. Its great work of over a third of a century has been done with less
money to each person benefited, each task accomplished, than has any other
work that has ever existed for the uplift of humanity or the promotion of
knowledge.

3. The faithful work of its Officers and Council, assistance without pay
or the expectation or desire for it, is unequalled by that of any other philan-
thropic or educational movement.

Every Dollar is Expended, Directly and Net, for Actual Expenses.

These are not mere claims; they are
facts that can be easily and gladly
proven to you. On this basis the con-
clusion is self-evident that a money
gift from you to the AA will "count"
for more than to any other organiza-
tion or purpose.

This does not insist that you are to
give only to the AA more than it would
mean you must buy only a certain
kind of food if a chemist tells you that
one kind has the highest food value in
proportion to cost.

Other organizations are doing good
work in science and philanthropy, but
analyze most of them and you will find
plenty of good or fair salaries for doing
it.. The AA has done its work for al-
most thirty-five years without any sal-
ary, or money remuneration in any
form to its promoters and workers.

Every dollar you give goes directly to
the work, and, even more astonishing
and meritorious, no salaries are desired
for the future. Therefore we make the
claim that the AA not only merits your
financial aid but that it MOST does so.
The story is too long, the details are too
many, to be fully explained here. All
we ask now is INVESTIGATION.

We need at once a FEW thousands
of dollars to complete the equipment
and to operate Arcadia for the great
work it has to do.

Again we ask you to please INVES-
TIGATE. If we cannot prove what we
say, do not give a cent but publish our
claims as misleading. If we prove it,
give every dollar you can invest (and
tell your friends to do the same) in the
good of nature, science and humanity.

266

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Contributions to Arcadia.
Mrs. Arthur Munson of Stamford,
Connecticut, has contributed two loads
of beautiful white cobblestones that
greatly add to the six borders of the
walks leading- to the entrance build-
ing- of Arcadia.

A liberal supply of marine speci-
mens, chiefly from Florida, has been
contributed by Mr. George W. Mor-
gan of Sound Beach.

Liberal supply of "crazy corn"
(grown by the inmates of the Insane
Asylum,, Brattleboro, Vermont), spe-
cimens of other varieties of corn and
also seeds and books by Air. George
S. Lewis. Jr., Springfield, Massachu-
setts.

Marine specimens from Miss Emily
A. Bradfield, Greenwich, Connecticut.

Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller of Los
Angeles, California, well known to all
students and lovers of nature as an
ornithologist, is also well versed in
marine algae. She has donated to the
Agassiz Association, of which she is
a member, a fine collection of her
mounted specimens to be placed in
the AA Home for assistance to our
students and entertainment of visitors.

Death of E. Earl Dubois.

Earl Dubois, aged 25 years, only
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Dubois,
63 Hamilton street, for the past three
years in charge of the silk mill office,
died Tuesday night of infantile paraly-
sis. Mr. Dubois was taken ill Fri-
day but remained at the office until
Saturday night. Sunday afternoon he
went to bed, complaining of pains in
the back of his head. His condition
became rapidly worse until Tuesday
night when death occurred. The de-
ceased was born on his father's farm
at Galilee and was graduated from the
O. F. A., in 1905. He was exception-
ally bright and capable and made
friends of all with whom he came in
contact. Mr. Dubois was a true lover
of nature, and being clever with the
pen, wrote many entertaining articles
on nature and nature study for maga-
zines and newspapers. Tie was an

exceptionally clean-cut young manr
whom it was a pleasure to know. He
was esteemed by his employers and
every employe of the silk mill. He
is survived by his sorrowing parents

E. EARE DUBOIS.

who have the sympathy of all in their
affliction. The funeral was held from
his late residence, Thursday afternoon,
Rev. W. C. Mclntyre officiating. —
Newspaper Item.

Mr. Dubois, of Ogdensburg, New
York, was one of the best friends of
The Guide to Nature and an active
Corresponding Member and worker
of The Agassiz Association. His death
is a great loss to our cause. We ex-
tend most sincere sympathy to the
parents.

If you happen to get a new idea don't
build a barbed wire fence around it and label
it yours. By giving your best thoughts
freely others will come to you so freely
that you will soon never think of fencing
them in. Thoughts refuse to climb barbed
wire fences to reach anybody. — Luther Bur-
bank.

A man who hates' plants, or is neglectful of
them, or who has other interests beyond
them, could no more be a successful plant-
cultivator than he could turn back the tides
of the ocean with his finger-tips. — Luther
Burbank.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

267

The Bending of Trees by Ice and Snow.

JOHN E. MELLISH, CORRESPONDING MEM-
BER NO. 2012 OF THE A A, COTTAGE
GROVE, WISCONSIN.

I am sending- you some remarkable
pictures of the effects of the great
storm of January 29, 1909. The pho-
tographs were all taken three days
after the storm. The first two days
were partly cloudy and there was a
wind blowing at the rate of twenty-
four miles an hour most of the time.
The air w?s also full of snow. The

snow, rain and sleet started about dark
on the twenty-eighth and by nine
o'clock all that could be seen of the
trees was solid ice. The next morning
all the wires were down and were
coated with two inches of wet snow.

JOHN E. MELLISH.

It rained some then and turned colder
the thirty-first of January. The sun
shone brightly most of the time so
the snow thawed and packed and then
froze into solid ice. The trees in the
photographs stayed covered with ice
for a week. The bent trees are white

THE BENDING OF TREES BY ICE AND SNOW.

268

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

oaks from four to six inches in di-
ameter. I never saw such a beautiful
sight as the woods presented for the
next few days. It was beyond descrip-
tion.

I am also sending a photograph of
a good reflection in a pond. It was
taken with an old plate that had been
standing in the plate holder for two
years, so the upper right-hand corner
was light struck. (Not clear enough
for reproduction in a cut.) — Ed.

Finding a Tree Frog.

BY EDMUND J. SAWYER, SCHENECTADY,
NEW YORK.

The illusiveness of the tree frog has
been too often dwelt upon to need more

One day, on examining what seemed
a good place for a house wren's nest, I
surprised myself and the tree frog
whose picture you see here. His re-
treat was an old auger hole in a tall
post which with others supported one
side of an ice house on a farm. The
hole was about five feet up and went
through the post ; the frog was near the
middle. Poking in with a stick I gently
urged him to crawl out on the opposite
side where my camera was focused.
At the sunny opening he paused, mule-
like, and it required almost a shove
from the rear to induce him entirely
into the light. At the click of the
camera he deliberately crawled out of
sight again into the hole.

THE TREE FROG I SURPRISED.

than passing attention here. In the
woods, their proper haunts, I have
never seen a single one, though I have
often tried to steal a march on the
singers. As an easy job I much prefer
finding humming birds' nests. Tbe
animal I mean is the true tree frog, the
strikingly black and gray, toad-like fel-
low that you find ( ?) in dark holes
of tree trunks in sunny weather, out-
side on the bark or on the branches on
cloudy days ; not the spry little pink-
ish chaps which we often see on the
dead leaves and leaf mould.

Meteoric Plants.

BY DR. WM. WHITMAN BAILEY, BROWN
UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

It is a fact well known to flower
lovers that certain plants, abundant one
year, may not be found again in the
same place, or anywhere else, for sev-
eral seasons after. In many cases these
are at times in such quantities that one
cannot account for their lapse at others
on the ground of injudicious picking.
The phenomenon has deeper, and to
the writer, unknown causes. He does
not propose at this time to theorize

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

269

upon them, nor to dogmatize, which
is worse.

One of these so-called "meteoric"
plants is a very queer orchid of the
genus Pogonia. 'I his queer plant is
called the whorled pogonia from the
circle of glossy, parallel-veined leaves
just beneath the flowers. The latter
are in no way showy but strange to
a degree.

They are of a purple, dusky hue,
mingled with dark green, and support-
ed on stalks longer than the ovary.
The outer sepals are narrowly linear,
more than twice the length of the in-
ner, spreading from an erect base, and
more or less twisted. The whole flower
has an animal-like appearance. The lip,
that characteristic part of an orchid, has
a narrow crest down the middle, but
is beardless. The flowers are gener-
ally solitary or, rarely, a pair to a
stem.

Owing to its sombre colors one is
apt to overlook it even in years when
it is frequent. Some seasons, as we
have said, it fails ; at all others we have
it brought in or sent from six or eight
widely scattered localities. It grows
in dense woods, in clumps of several
or many plants, and is spoken of in
Gray's Manual as "rather rare." This
in the new edition is changed to the
words, "not common," which indicate
greater frequency than the older ex-
pression.

The fringed gentian is another in-
stance of what we have called meteoric
plants, and is even more typical than
the last cited instance. Everyone knows
its queer way of failing all of a sud-
den in moist choice localities.

Other plants might be mentioned,
but these are enough to emphasize
our text. Will some one hazard an ex-
planation?

readers of this magazine ever saw a
squirrel moving her little ones from
one nest to another. The cat seizes her
kitten by the nape of the neck and lifts
it as high as she can. Unless it is
quite small its hind parts drag on the

ground.

How Squirrels Transport Their Young.

BY JOHN S. FERNALD, BELFAST, MAINE.

We are all familiar with the method
by which animals of the cat tribe trans-
port their young from place to place,
and most 'of us recall our youthfu?
anger at the family cat the first time we
saw her carrying one or her kittens in her
mouth. But I doubt if many of the

A squirrel, however, is wiser, or at
least has a better method of doing this.
She induces the little one to lie down
on its back before her, when she
grasps the loose skin on its belly in
her mouth. It then clasos its fore legs
and head around one side of her neck
and its hind legs and tail around the
other, thus making of itself a sort of
fur scarf for its mamma. The mother
and baby are then ready for a trip up
or down a tree or over the ground of
lawn or forest or even to make a. good
run from a pursuing cat or other
enemv

The Unfriendliness of Birds Toward
Herons.

Brooklyn, New York.

To the Editor :

In Castleton, Vermont, where I spent
the summer, I was greatly interested
in watching a pair of green herons
wdiich came every day for two or three
weeks in mid summer to a brook near
the house. If nesting they showed no
sign's of being busy, for they would sit
on some bare limb a half hour or more
at a time, making their toilet in most
thorough fashion. When stretched out,
the neck, with head and bill, seemed
longer than the body; but soon after
alighting the head was drawn down
close so there seemed to be no neck
at all, and the whole bird looked as
round as a bobwhite.

Most small birds did not seem to
take much notice of the herons, but
the herons stretched out their long
necks at the small birds as they flew
by. A kingbird, however, dove at a
heron and snapped his bill, but the
heron held his ground simply ducking
his head.

Late in the season I once saw three
at a time, but previously there had
never been more than one or two.

Caroline M. Hartwell.

270 THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

£ The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League J

By George Klingle, Summit, New Jersey

Explanation — The aims of this League are in many respects the same as those of The Agassiz Association
Therefore it has been proposed that the adult inter. sts be represented by "The Guide to Nature" and that the
League co-operate, or possibly be affiliated, with The Agassiz Association.— E. F. B.

A Bird Incident. among" our bird neighbors, would do

by Edith l. pierson, morristown high well to remember, when felling dead

school, chapter of the l. ii. trees, or cutting away dead branches,

nature league. that when such wood is not found in

It has always been my habit to save its accustomed places, our woodpeck-

the squash seeds, for the next year's ers move on to new locations, for it

planting. To do this I placed 'them is to the shafts of the dead trees, in

out in the sun to dry before putting the forests and about our homes, that

them away for the winter. the woodpeckers resort when they

One night, when I went to bring would choose a site for their house-

the seeds in out of the dampness, I keeping.

noticed that about half of them were

gone. The next day I placed out more A League Report,

of them and the same thing happened. Dear Secretary:

I was now determined to find out who I have obtained this summer some
the thief was and hid near by. Very fine minerals for winter study, and
soon a little nuthatch came and begun have built a little palace for the cater-
to carry away my seeds. He took pillar world. Two caterpillars have
nearly all there were and placed them already built their cocoons, and I am
under the bark of an old dead stump. expecting to see many beautiful but-
All that season I continued to put terflies and moths next summer,
the seeds in the same place and the I was able to bring a root of the
little fellow became quite tame. The cardinal flower home with me from
next winter I examined the stored food the country, and the plant is verily
and found that the contents of the flourishing.

shell had been eaten up, and each one I expect to be able to tell you when

was full of nice fat worms upon which I come to Summit, some plans for the

the nuthatch had been feeding. South Orange Chapter No. 3, of the

All that winter I placed seeds out L. H. Nature League,

for him, and as soon as his stock of I have just refused the position as

worms had gone he would store away Class President in order to have time

new seeds to replace the old ones. for the League-work.

One day I heard a great commotion Is there anything better than na-
and saw a larger woodpecker eating ture in its present conditions, what-
the worms stored by the nuthatch, ever the time of year? I just now
This did not suit the latter, and so of looked out of the window and "saw,"
course a light followed. I feared for almost heard the whisper that Jack
the life of my little friend so I went Frost is near. The trees are trying to
out and separated them. They flew do their final best; the birds are show-
to different parts of the tree and fin- ing human powers — to think in their
ished the fight in words as strong as southerly journeys; the horn of plenty
a bird can use. is yielding its fruits, in order that this

Ever since that time I have placed may be the best season of the year,

out the seeds, in the autumn, and the October!! — and yet we shall love the

nuthatch comes and stores them away fluffy white snowflakes, the budding

for the winter. and awakening world of the spring,

Those of us who desire to maintain, and the warm, quiet days of summer,

or increase the present population filled with the peaceful hum of insects.

THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE.

271

As I looked, for the past few days,
on the tens of thousands of mankind,
gathered in New York City, 1 won-
dered if any could be as happy as they
who worship God and nature.
Sincerely yours,

Alfred Ivinsey.
South Orange, N. J.

I have not plucked a wild flower
this vear. — Airs. P. Z.

The American Woodcock.

BY GEORGE CHILDS, OF THE KENWOOD
CHAPTER, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

How it differs from other members of
the Scolopacidae or snipe family.

The eyes are situated unusually high
in the triangular-shaped head. Because
of this they are able to see over com-
paratively high objects, as Audubon
once proved to his own satisfaction. He
took a small tub, placed a captured
woodcock in it, and stationed a cat
near the edge of the tub. Although the
rim of the receptacle was as high as
the bird, the cat was immediately spied
and the woodcock made its escape as
quickly as possible. The large size of
the eyes, also, show that the bird is
nocturnal, feeding and flying, for the
most part, by night.

The structure of the bill is another
feature peculiar to the woodcock. The

A WOODCOCK'S NEST ON THE GROUND.

Unlike other members of the snipe
family, the American woodcock (Philo-
hela Minor) is strictly terrestrial. It
is true that the ruff, or fighting snipe,
of Scotland and the Hebrides, breeds
and incubates in secluded wooded dis-
tricts, but the greater part of its life is
spent in marshes or on streams.

The gregarious habits of the English
snipe, its strange disappearances from
certain localities, and its appearance in
others, are characteristics observed also
in the woodcock. The European great
snipe, with its short legs, long bill, and
comparatively massive form, more
closely resembles this strange bird than
any other representative of its family.
But there are a few wide differences
which distinguish the woodcock from
other members of his class ; namely the
eyes, the peculiar properties of the bill,
and the nesting period flight.

upper mandible, or division of the bill,
protrudes beyond the lower, and is
equipped with a short, flexible appen-
dage, used in catching earth worms,
located deep in the ground. The
method of procedure is very interest-
ing. The bird thrusts its bill into the
earth up to its nostrils ; with the flexible
appendage it prys around until it is
able to grasp the worm which it pro-
ceeds to pull out of its hiding-place.

The woodcock possesses yet another
striking" individuality. If suddenly
aroused from its nest, it flies upward
in large spiral curves until it is some
fifty feet above the earth. In course
of time it will descend, in like manner,
to the ground.

It is generally supposed that by these
means it sometimes deludes hunters,
who are often under the impression

272

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

that soaring is the bird's regular mode
of flight.

Rarely does this bird exceed ten
inches in length. In a few cases the
female, which is invariably larger than
the male, attains a length of eleven in-
ches. Indeed one on record measured
twelve, but such instances are rare.

In the summer months the woodcock
is found as far north as Labrador, and
the Hudson Bay, but as fall approaches
it migrates further south until it
reaches southern Virginia and North
Carolina. Here it winters, and it is
here that the bird has been so greatly
reduced in numbers. In 1835 it was
not an uncommon sight to see a hunter

return from the woods with as many
as twenty woodcocks in his game-bag.
Woodcock hunting was, some years
ago, an every day occurrence, and even
a business ; the markets abounded with
them, and now, as a sad result, a rapid-
ly diminishing number exists.

The woodcock arrives in our north-
ern latitude, about the first of April.
At this time they are gregarious, and
may be seen flying by night, one after
the other in quick succession. Their
flight is direct but low, rarely above
four feet above the meadows where
they congregate. In June they mate,
and seek the thick brush, in prefer-
ence to the field.

GAINING INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WOODCOCK.

THE L\ RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE.

273

THE WOODCOCK IS NOT FRIGHTENED FROM HER NEST.
(Photographs by Scott and Van Altena.)

Their nests are constructed of grass
and leaves. Sometimes in suitable lo-
cations, they line them with mud, but
such is seldom the case. Occasionally
they build in decayed stumps of trees,
where the bird is scarcely discernible
above the surrounding' bark. The eggs
number four or five, are light olive
colored, and dotted with spots of
brownish black. In shape they are
less pyriform, or pear-shaped than
those of the other snipes. Like the
Phaloropes, the male performs incuba-
tion. There was some discrepancy of
opinion over this statement, for Sam-
uels claimed to have seen both sexes
perform that function, but modern in-
vestigation has decided against him.

The young, when just hatched, are
covered with yellow down. They are
at once able to scuttle about in the
bushes, and are an endless source of
trouble to their parents, who seem
everlastingly anxious about them and
with their low "Peet-a-peet-a-peet,"
seem to be continually calling them out
of danger's way.

The woodcock is often spoken of as
the "gamiest of game birds." Infinite
skill and precision are the requirements
for their hunter. Their wonderfully
developed instinctive powers enable
them to "bamboozle" him in many
ways, so for the benefit of the hunter,
as well as the bird and the nature-
lover, should not absolute present
protection be given to this rapidly dis-
appearing denizen of our woods?

Swamps.

It is not significant that some rare and
delicate and beautiful flowers should be
found only in unfrequented wild

swamps

Where the most beauti-

ful wild flowers grow, there man's

spirit is fed and poets grow.
********

I am confident that there can be

nothing so beautiful in any cultivated

garden with all its varieties as this

wild swamp.
********

How when a man purchases a thing,
he is determined to get and gets hold
of it, using how many expletives and
how long a string of synonymous or
similar terms signifying possession in
the legal process. What's mine's my
own. An old deed of a small piece
of swamp land, which I have lately
surveyed at the risk of being mired
past recovery, says that "the said
Spaulding, his heirs and assigns, shall
and may from this (?) time, and at
all times forever hereafter, by force and
virtue of these presents, lawfully,
peaceably, and quietly have, hold, use,
occupy, possess, and enjoy the said
swamp," etc. — Thoreau.

Beauty of the Commonplace.
After all, the great lesson is that no
special natural sights, not Alps, Ni-
agara, Yosemite, or anything else, is
more grand or more beautiful than the
ordinary sunrise and sunset, earth and
sky, the common trees and grass. —
Walt Whitman.

274

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

■■■ " " " " " " " " ,l " " " ■■ " " ■■ " ■■ " " " " ' ' " " ■ ■ "■

IlTERARY

I— ^andBIOGI

BIOGRAPHICAL

Astronomy From a Dipper. By Eliot C.
Clarke. With charts by the author.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mif-
flin Company.

A gem of simplicity, uniqueness and util-
ity, with charming touches of personality
in quaintness and humor. The idea of the
book is good and well worked out.

At the Pole with Cook and Peary. A pic-
torial Record of the most Important and
Sensational Geographical Discovery of
Recent Times. Portland, Maine: L. H.
Nelson Company.

This is a series of interesting timelv pho-
tographs, each with its legend occupying a
page, after the style of a local souvenir
book.

The Maine Woods. By Henry D. Thoreau.
Illustrated by Clifton Johnson. New
York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company.

This well known classic by the great
master of us all, is well illustrated bv the
skilled nature photographer. All lovers of
the woods and of Thoreau are deeply indebt-
ed to Mr. Johnson for his beautiful photo-
graphs and interesting "Introduction."

Geology of the Citv of IVew York. With
numerous illustrations and maps. Bv
L. P. Gratacap, A. M. New York: Henry
Holt and Company.

"The facts presented and the statements
made have been brought together from many
sources and are carefullv classified, and the
book will, it is hoped, helpfully develon and
complete a correct geological conception of
Greater New York." The author is learned
and enthusiastic in his favorite science.

Laboratory Botany. For the High School. B-

Willard N. Clute. Boston: Ginn and
Company.

The leading characteristics of this new
and in many ways unique laboratorv botany
are m its presentation of a connected studv
of evolution for both teacher and punil: (2)
its method of thorough and suggestive di-
rection for both teacher and pupil: (3) its
concise yet adequate lists of Questions for
answer in notebooks after actual field or
laboratory investigation: (4) its clear and
accurate outlines of the specific subjects.

Thomas Alva Edison. Sixty years of an
Inventor's Life. By Francis Arthur
Jones. With numerous illustrations
from photographs. New York: Thomas
Y. Crowell & Company.

This is an interesting account of the great
Edison, who according to the book has "quit
the inventing business" and is now devoting
himself almost exclusively to nure science.
The book is readable, instructive, and well
illustrated.

The Nursery Book. A Complete Ouide to the
Multiplication of Plants. By L. H.
Bailey. Thirteenth Edition. New York:
The Macmillan Company.

''This little handbook aims at nothing
more than an account of the methods com-
monly employed in the propagation and
crossing of plants, and its province does not
extend, therefore, to the discussion of any
of the ultimate results or influences of these
methods."

This is' a useful book for every lover of
trees and shrubs. It is real nature study,
that should take the place of all check list
nature study. To make a list of trees identi-
fied is not so valuable as to grow one tree
from the seed. Professor Bailey is an ac-
knowledged authority.

FOR BIRD LOVERS.
The September-October number of Bird-
Lore contains its usual variety of articles
interesting to bird lovers. The lively court-
ship of a pair of Black Ducks is related by
one who was fortunate enough to witness
the singular performance. In 'Woodpeckers
and June Bugs' are described the habits of
Woodpeckers and the peculiar manner in
which they prepare insect food for their
young. 'A Successful Failure' treats of the
nest-building habits of the House Wren,
and the difficulty of providing him with a
nest-box to his liking. Another article de-
scribes the methods adopted by Hawks in
the pursuit of their prey. 'Two Warbler
Photographs,' 'The Hanging Home in the
Old Tree,' 'Blue Jay Boarders,' and Educa-
tional Leaflet, 'The Bush-Tit,' together with
the usual Notes, Reviews, etc., make up an
exceedingly interesting number.

8B»i

rasMwi

RECREATION J* VOL II DECEMBER, 1909 No. 9 * EDUCATION

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor

IRVING BACHEL

PUBUSHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. - - ARCADIA: SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. ' - - • - Single Copy, 10 Cents

Entered as second-class matter June 12, 1909, at the post office, Sound Beach, Conn., under Act of March 3, 1879

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We make the above offers (No. 1 and No. 2 and No. 3), exceeding all others
that have ever been made or ever will be made) in celebration of the in-
auguration of the New Department:

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PUBLISHERS NOTICES

Tis not in mortals to COMMAND success, but we'll do
more, Sempronius, we'll DESERVE IT. — Addison: Cato.

We Are What People Call Us.

ii
We are a hospital.

:'fi ^ jj: ijc :Jc #

Note: — Before proceeding further, let us
explain. There is an old saying, with much
truth in it, that a person may be or become
that in which he has implicit confidence and
earnest faith. We propose to go further and
say that Arcadia will accept and become
everything that the people persist in er-
roneously calling it. It is so difficult to
change public opinion that we take the
easier course and accept and assume all
that we are called. While the buildings of
Arcadia (seven thus far) have been in the
process of erection, there have been many
curious remarks of misunderstanding our
simple yet important purpose of leading
people to a knowledge and love of nature.
We have been amused; we have been vexed;
now we are resigned and accept anything
you persist in calling us, as will be set
forth in a series of articles of which this is
No. 2.

"Ish das de hos-pi-talf"

We are informed by a resident of
Sound Beach, as a supposedly good
joke, that this was the inquiry of
a stranger with a decidedly foreign
accent as he pointed to the long rows
of Arcadia buildings surrounded by
an iron fence.

"Well, really," continued our jocose
Sound Beach friend, "couldn't blame
him after all for if I hadn't known I
might have thought it was something
of the kind. But I thought you would
regard it as a good joke, and I made
up my mind I'd tell you the first time
I met you."

"What did you tell him?"

"Oh, I explained to him that this is
a 'bug house' and that you had all
sorts of queer things here."

"The joke is on you ; not him. We
are a hospital; we haven't a bug (the
house is too new) and as to "all sorts,'
we have only a very, very small frac-

tion of even the local forms of natural-
ists' interest."

And so let us accept this, my reader ;
we are a hospital, a hospitalia, for
those desiring cure from the stress and
strain of modern civilization.

Are you tired out? Our hospital
takes you to the sun parlors of the
world, and bids you assimilate all its
rays of beauty and interest.

Are you a little discouraged? Then
as with Agassiz, Nature the old nurse,
will take you as a child upon her knee,
"Saying: 'Here is a story-book
Thy father has written for thee.' '

And if you will you may wander
"away and away
With Nature, the dear old nurse,

Who sang to him night and day
The rhymes of the universe."

Yes, Nature is a "dear old nurse,"
the dearest possession of mankind, and
as old as the universe.

Nature is also a true teacher, and
rightly has Wordsworth urged us to
"Come forth into the light of Things,
Let Nature be your Teacher."

But teacher is only another word for
doctor. So then, nature is a nurse and
a doctor, and where there are a nurse
and a doctor there is a hospital.

Yes, das ish de hos-pi-tal !

The Henry Lomb Memorial.

In the presence of the 1,800 em-
ployees of the Bausch & Lomb Optical
Company, the first bronze and marble
testimonial ever erected in Rochester
by employees to a deceased employer
was unveiled in the factory of the
Bausch & Lomb Company. The
bronze is a tablet resting on a beauti-
fully polished Ionic column or pedestal
of Sienna marble. The bronze tablet
is attached to a scroll capital of the
column.

The testimonial is in memory of Cap-
tain Henry Lomb, who jointly with

ADVERTISEM ENTS.

John J. Bausch, founded more than
fifty years ago, the Bausch and Lomb
Optical Company. Captain Lomb was
known either personally or by sight to
practically every man, woman and
child in Rochester. He was always in
the forefront in matters pertaining to
the city's growth and to the spiritual,
moral and intellectual welfare of the
people. By his employees he was es-
teemed and loved as few men are, and
their admiration of him as a man and
a friend has found expression in this
memorial.

INSCRIPTION ON TABLET.

The inscription on the tablet in-
cludes the last public utterance by
Captain Lomb, which was spoken on
June 5, 1908, to the directors of the
Rochester Public Health Association,
in reply to their request for advice.
The words were : "Think of others first,
yourselves afterwards." The entire
inscription is as follows:

"Think of others first,
yourselves afterwards."

1828 HENRY LOMB. 1908

This tablet is given in testimony of
our love for our true friend and
counselor, who by his noble deeds
and good life gave to us a rare ex-
ample of simple greatness to study
and emulate.
By unanimous vote of the employees of

the

BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL CO.,— Roches-
ter Newspaper.

THE BRYOLOGIST is now in its twelfth year
and volume. Send for a sample copy and con-
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Address MRS. ANNIE MORRILL SMITH, 78 Orange
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the SUNSET CAT JOURNAL

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MABEL E. ATEN, Editor Mill Valley, California
P. 0. Box 883

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"Love has opened our heart to the knowledge of
mighty things. It has led us to the Prince of Peace."

Then said the maiden : "Let us build a temple wherein
to worship him, and make it a holy place."

And call it home," said the young knight, as he kissed
her. — Irving 'Bacheller in Vergilius."

PEOPLE AND GARDEN PRODUCTS.
Gardens are all right. These things are a good deal
like folks. Some grow up an' some grow down. I used to
know a woman that looked like a turnip, and a gal that was
like a flower, an' another that was like a pepper-plant, an'
a man that was a reg'lar human onion. — Irving 'Bacheller in
" Eben Holdens Last Day A-Fishing."

THE PROPERTY THAT WE CALL OURS.
I remember how, as a boy, I used to long for a watch-chain, and how once Uncle Eb
hung his upon my coat, and said I could "call it mine." So it goes all through life. We
are the veriest children, and there is nothing one may really own. He may call it his for
a little while, just to satisfy him. The whole matter of deeds and titles had become now
a kind of baby's play. You may think you own the land, and you pass on; but there it is,
while others, full of the same illusion, take your place.— Irving Bacheller in "Eben Holders
Last Day A-Ftshing."

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

DECEMBER, 1909

No. 9

"Thrushwood," Home of Irving Bacheller

BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

BEN HOLDEN" is a true
love story that has touched
the hearts of lovers as no
other like story has ever
done. It is more than a
story. It is a rhapsody, a
paean, an oratorio of love
— the love of the woods.
Therein many paths lead to the
woods, and their hilarious, joyous,
gloomy, crackling', weird, mysterious,
thrilling trilling phases. The author,
Irving Bacheller, is a master of the en-
tire keyboard of the music of the woods
and brings out many strains, some simple
as the phrases of the white throated
sparrow, some big, thunderous, Wag-
nerian as the song of the water-fall in
"Silas Strong."

On the first page of "Eben Holden,"
the very "small boy in a big basket
on the back of a jolly old man" makes
his first observation in the fields and
woods. Our first acquaintance with
him is nearness to nature :

"He saw wonderful things, day after
day, looking down at the green fields or
peering into the gloomy reaches of the
wood; and he talked about them."

The author would have the young
folks not only talk about and think
about the woods, but he would have
them rejoice — play, shout and sing as
the trees do :

"The woods were merry with otn
shouts, and, shortly one could hear the
heart-beat of the maples in the sound-
ing bucket. It was the reveille of
spring. Towering trees shook down
the gathered storms of snow and felt
for the sunlight. The arch and shanty
were repaired, the great iron kettle was
scoured and lifted to its place, and then
came the boiling. It was a great, an
inestimable privilege to sit on the robes
of faded fur, in the shanty, and hear the
fire roaring under the kettle and smell
the sweet odor of the boiling sap. Uncle
Eb minded the shanty and the fire and
the woods rang with his merry songs."

278

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

THE GRACEFUL AND PICTURESQUE ENTRANCE TO "THRUSHWOOD."

Riding away for a walk homeward.

MR. AND MRS. BACHELLER FREQUENTLY DISMISS THE AUTOMOBILE AND WALK
l- SEVERAL MILES HOME.

"They spend many an afternoon in the woods."

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

2 fg

The author is almost unconsciously
ever thinking of the woods. He evident-
ly has in mind walking- through the
green waving grasses of the fields and
entering the deep recesses of the woods
when he pictures the music of a violin.
In this, while the words do not say so.
one feels the parallel of the echo from
the woods, the hush of a summer's day,
the gentle bending of the grass by an
occasionally zephyr, and the calm, the
gentle expectation of leaving the fields
and entering the path to the depths
of the unexplored :

"The musician had begun to thrum
the strings of his violin. We turned
to look at him. He still sat in his
chair, his ear bent to the echoing cham-
ber of the violin. Soon he laid his
bow to the strings and a great chord
hushed every whisper and died into
a sweet, low melody, in which his
thought seemed to be feeling its way
through sombre paths of sound."

To Irving Bacheller the woods are
a sacred edifice :

"The great roof of the wilderness,
had turned red and faded into yel-
low. Soon its rafters began to show
through, and then, in a day or two,
they were all bare but for some patches
of evergreen."

And again in "The Master :"

"There is a nook in the woods near
the Hermitage where we love to go-
of a summer day and sit in cool, deep
shadows and read or sing, or talk, or
pray to some special saint in. our calen-
dar. We call it our cathedral, and it
is very old. Before houses were made
with hands or ever a man was born
of a woman it was there, and unnum-
bered dead are in its crypt and every
age has added something to its gran-
deur. Gray, tapered columns rise to
green arches far above our heads. Dim
aisles, carpeted with mosses, green and
gray, hush our footsteps so they dis-
turb not the low hymning of the pines.
Rugs of linea and robin's wheat in-
vite us, and here and there ferns and

branches shake out their incense as our tween the tr.ee columns there were long,
feet touch them. On either side is a golden panes, all thickly wrought with
great, memorial window when the sun sprays and branches, to check and
is low, and you would say that be- soften the glow."

THE VIEW FROM THE WEST.
'When you enter a house you begin to feel the
heart of its owner."

280

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

i 1

■^M^M^Lf*^ ll

4PI

- > J

■

THE VIEW FROM THE SOUTH.

And from this sanctuary he would
send forth truth to all mankind :

"For truth you've got to get back
into the woods. You can Una men
there a good deal as God made them
— genuine, strong and simple."

He would have the woods a great
sanitarium :

"All who were sick and weary felt
the ineffable healing of the woodland
breeze. It soothed the aching brain
of the mill-owner and slackened the
ruinous toil of his thoughts.

He would find God and Heaven in
the woods :

"When you enter a house you begin

THE VIEW FROM THE EAST WATER SIDE.

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

281

PERHAPS MR. BACHELLER AND HIS SON ARE LISTENING FOR THE CALL OF THE

SWIFTUS BACHELLERUS!

A COZY NOOK BY THE DUCK POOL

282

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

HOMES XEAR TO NATURE.

283

THE ROAD AND THE BRIDGE TO THE ISLAND.

to feel the heart of its owner. Some- cathedral and hear the pines and the
thing in the walls and furnishings, thrushes we think of our master and of
something in the air — is it a vibration his great work and love, and in silence
which dead things have gathered from
the living? — bids you welcome or

: warns you to depart. It is the true

I voice of the master. As Gordon came

• into the wilderness he felt like one re-
turning to his father's house. In this
great castle the heart of its Master
seemed to speak to him with a tender-
ness fatherly and unmistakable."

He compares a beautiful girl to the
woods :

"She was like the spirit of the wood-
land— wild, beautiful, silent."

He tells us that the lives of men
are like trees :

" 'His character," Dunmore ans-
wered. Men are like trees. Some
are hickory, some are oak, some are
cedar, some are only basswood. Some
are strong, beautiful, generous, some
are small and sickly for want of air
and sunlight ; some are selfish and
quarrelsome as a thorntree. Every
year we must draw energy out of the
great breast of nature and put on a
fresh ring of wood. We must grow
or die. You know what comes to the
rotten-hearted ?' "

To the woods we will go in the sor-
row or bereavement :

"Always when we sit in our old in the outdoor study on the park.

284

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

WHERE HE GETS HIS INSPIRATION. MR. BACHELLER IS FOND OF WALKING IN THE

WOODS AND OBSERVING THE VARIOUS FORMS OF LIFE.

"It's the ol' man o' the woods," said Uncle Eb. E's out takin' a walk." — "Eben Holden."

we look out through the open door wide range of Irving Bacheller's love

that he has set before us." of a nearness to nature and especially

* * his love of the woods. For such a na-

Thus in a few selections from his ture lover his home is ideally located

own words, I have best shown the at Riverside, Connecticut. The view

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

285

of the Long Island Sound is beautiful,
balanced and dreamy. The contour of
the hills, the sloping ravine, the dis-
tant islands and farther on the long
arm of a peninsula, are all in such per-
fect harmony of extent and combina-
tion as to make one exclaim : "This
all has been done for artistic effect."
And the more one admires the whole
or studies the details, the more one
feels that the words of such an ex-
clamation state a literal truth. The
Great Artist has so painted and mod-
elled this bit of nature that it needed
but little work of man for the most
effective "framing."

^ ^ % % *

The home is indeed artistic in struc-
ture and setting with its lawns, foun-
tains and shrubbery. But the author
quickly turns one's eye to the threefold
beauties of nature — the ravine, the
fields and, most important of all, the
woods where the thrushes sing — from
which the name, "Thrushwood."

He is especially fond of the oaks
and beeches in the woods and loves

to stroll in its thickets, some of which
are as wild as any in the Adirondacks,
A clump of trees and shrubs com-
pletely roofed with interlacing branches
affords an ideal outdoor study. Banks
of earth and arches of stone connect
two islands with the long terrace oc-
cupied by the author's residence. At
the foot of the wooded slope in front
is a lake for canoeing.

Mr. and Mrs. Bacheller are fond of
outdoor life and spend much time in
the enjoyment of this beautiful bit of
nature that surrounds them. They
spend many an afternoon in the woods
which in spring are floored with vio-
lets and later with crane's bill rising
above the ferns. In June the dog-
woods are like a halted snow storm in
the midst of green thickets around the
author's home. He is a saunterer and
loves to watch the play of the squir-
rels or the birds in his heronry, one
of the largest and most interesting in
Connecticut. "Thrushwood" is fortu-
nate in being a haunt of the night
heron and the scarlet tanager.

WHERE HE WRITES HIS BOOKS FOR THE DELIGHT OF MILLIONS.

His own words in "Silas Strong" may well be reverted on himself:

"Spent the most of his life in the woods," said Gordon. "Came in here for his health long ago from
I don't know where; grew strong, and has always stuck to the woods. Had to work, like the rest of us,
when I knew him .... I have wept and laughed over his poems."

"Poems!" Master exclaimed.

"That's the only word for it." Gordon went on. "The man is a woods lover and a poet,"

826

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

Irving Bacheller was born Septem-
ber 26th, 1859, at Pierpont, New York,
which is in the St. Lawrence Valley.
He spent his boyhood in site of the
great "south woods" and enjoyed many
vacations in the wilderness with his
brothers when he was a small boy.
He was graduated from St. Lawrence
University, B.S., '82; M.S., '92; A.M.,
1933. He began work as a reporter

on "The Brooklyn Daily Times" in
1883. Founded Bacheller Newspaper
Syndicate late in 1884. Was on the
editorial staff of "The New York
World," 1888 and 1889. Published
"Eben Holden," 1900, which went to
265,000 in six months. The total sales
have been over half a million copies.
Notices of some of his principal books
will be found in the "Literary and Bio-
graphical" department of this number.

Ornamental Pods of Staphylea.
The fruiting capsules of the American
bladder-nut (Staphylea tri folia) have al-
ways had a peculiar fascination for me.
The shrubs are from eight to fifteen feet
high and grow scatteringly with spread-
ing branches 011 the borders of damp
woods.

The profuse growth of attractive
fruiting is tantalizing. One immediately
perceives that they look good enough
to eat but knows instinctively that they
are not. They are, however, a feast for
the eye and I like to sit in the dense
shade (for usually the shade from the
surrounding trees is dense) and imagine

THE PODS OF THE STAPHYLEA IN LATE AUTUMN.

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

2?8

that I am surrounded by primal riches-
fruit, fruit, above and around, but not
a bit to eat. One feels young again,
and toys with the pods as he did with
the trinkets of the Christmas trees in
years long gone by. Nature does de-
corate solely for the sake of the decora-
tion ; I am sure of that ; but whether or
not with a more utilitarian purpose as
well, I leave to the decision of the phil-
osophers. It is enough for me not to
"reason why" but to appreciate and
value the fact.

When the seeds are ripe they break
loose within the inflated membrane, and
rattle in a fascinating way when the dry
pod is shaken. The seeds are brown and
glossy. The books claim that those of
a European species are often strung to-
gether like beads, and used as a rosary.
Not the least interesting is the peculiar
membraneous structure of the pod.

THE PECULIAR, MEMBRANEOUS STRUCTURE.

THE POOS ON THE SHRUB IN EARLY AUTUMN.

288

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

OTULW^STRdNoMY

The Heavens in January.

BY PROF. S. ALFRED MITCHELL, OF COLUM-
BIA UNIVERSITY.

When will Halley's Comet be visible
in a small telescope? To this question
there is a very simple answer which
may be summed up in one syllable, now.
If one has a six-inch telescope, is gifted
with moderately keen eyesight, and has
good clear weather, the comet should be
visible and can be located without much
difficulty. Early in December the Smith
College observatory reported that Hal-
ley's comet had been seen there through
a three-inch telescope. Thus for posses-
ses of telescopes smaller than six-inch,
this interesting comet should prove a test
of eyesight. Amateur astronomers who
are not fortunate enough to possess a
telescope, but who wish to see the comet
with the naked eye, will probably have
to wait another three months till after
the comet passes by the sun in March,
and comes out from the sun's rays in
April. The comet will then rise before
the sun, and consequently can be seen
only shortly before sun rise — a much less
convenient time of studying the heavens
than in the early evening. The comet will
then rapidly increase in brightness, and
will* reach a greater and greater angle
from the sun till May 15, when it sud-
denly changes its position again and will
draw in quickly towards the sun. The
comet is due to cross the face of the sun
on May 18.. at 9 P. M., Eastern standard
time. This will be 6 P. M. Pacific time,
and the sun will not have then
set. Whether the comet will be big
enough to be seen in transit is an interest-
ing question. There is no authentic ac-
count of a transit ever having been seen
to have actually taken place, though
many, notably the Biele comet in 1826,
were calculated to have done so.

Of course, everyone knows that Hal-
ley's comet moves in a great ellipse.

stretching out beyond the orbit of Nep-
tune. Of all the comets with periods
less than 80 years, Halley's is the only
one which moves with a retrograde mo-
tion, that is, in the direction opposite to
the motions of all the planets about the
sun. This is the comet's own motion,
what is its apparent motion as seen from
the tiny earth, which itself is in motion
about the sun? The movement among
the stars is the resultant of the other
two motions. At the present time the
comet is traveling westward among the
stars, the sun in the opposite direction,
eastwards. The angle between them will
continually decrease till about March 25,
when the sun will pass between us and
the comet. By referring to a diagram
giving the paths of the earth and comet,
it will readily be seen that the comet
becomes a moving object and increases
its angular distance from the sun. On
April 19 the comet is at perihelion and
closest to the sun, and consequently is
moving with its greatest speed in its
orbit. Five days later it is headed in the
direction of the earth, but the world slips
by unharmed. The comet now ceases its
retrograde motion in the sky, and begins
to move direct or eastwards, at first
slowly and then with quickened pace. On
the evening of May 18 the comet comes
within 14,000,000 miles of the earth, and
this near approach causes a tremendous
apparent motion among the stars, and in
the next twenty-four hours and for sev-
eral days thereafter it moves eastward as
much as 15° each night. Consequently
on May 19 there will be no need to ask,
"Where is the comet?" All may see it
as a magnificent object appearing im-
mediately after sunset. It will be higher
and higher up in the western sky each
day when the sun sets. We have not had
a brilliant comet in northern latitudes
since 1882, and it is altogether probable
that Halley's will be just as magnificent,

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

289

though of this we cannot be certain.

The "man in the street" has been rath-
er disappointed with the comet because
is has not blazed forth brightly long be-
fore this. The reason is not hard to
find. At the first return since the "pre-
diction was made by an Englishman,"
in 1759, the comet was discovered 78
days before it passed the sun, in 1835,
a period of 102 days elapsed before dis-
covery and perihelion passage. By long

Halley's is not the only comet now
visible. On December 6, Mr. Zaccheus
Daniel, at Princeton, found the fourth
comet of the year 1909, with a five and
three-quarter inch telescope, and it is
consequently visible in a small instru-
ment.. Though Mr. Daniel is but thirty
years old, he has discovered three comets.
The new Daniel comet, which is in the
constellation of Auriga, is moving north-
wards and has no tail.

Evening SkyMap for January

Jan. Moon phases

LastQYr. Jan. 3.
Me.wMoon.Jan. II.
First Q'tr..J an is.
FullMoonJan.25.

FACESOUTHAND
HOLD THE MAP OVER
YOUR HEAD -THE TOP
NORTH, AND YOU WILLSEE
THE STARS AND PLANETS
JUST AS THEY APPEAR
IN THE HEAVENS

SOUTH

exposures with a sensitive photographic
plate, Max Wolf found Halley's comet
on September 11, no less than 220 days
before perihelion passage. If the same
number of days only were to elapse as
in 1835, on January 1, 1910, Halley's
comet would be still undiscovered. We
must possess our souls with a little pa-
tience, for the comet will not disappoint
us. During January the comet will move
from the constellation of Aries into Pis-
ces, and at the end of the month will set
about 9 P. M.

THE PLANET MARS.

Though Mars has now passed her
greatest brilliancy and is getting farther
away, the interest in it has not abated.
The question of the constitution of the
atmosphere of the ruddy planet is most
important. All astronomers are agreed
that there is very little water on Mars,
and this scarcity of water makes it nec-
essary to postulate irrigating canals in
order to carry the water from the polar
Caps so that life may be maintained.
Moreover, all are agreed that the tern-

290

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

perature of Mars is low, but differ on the
degree of temperature there. Poynting,
from theoretical considerations, finds that
the average temperature on Mars is 22°
Fahrenheit below zero. At such a degree
of cold, there would be no question of
canals ; the water would all be frozen
solid. Though 54° below freezing may be
below the real temperature, all infer-
ences we can draw from the earth points
to the fact that if the atmosphere at all
resembles our own, it should then be al-
ways below freezing. To have water in
the canals it is necessary to assume that
the atmosphere differs radically from our
own. We can postulate that Mars is
rich in radium, or with Prof. Lowell as-
sume there is a copious supply of water
vapor present in the atmosphere of Mars.
Water in the atmosphere will act like
glass in a greenhouse, will let the sun's
rays in, but will entrap them as they are
radiated back, and Mars may thus really
have a temperature capable of supporting
life. How are we going to discover the
presence of this water vapor? It cannot
be done by direct observation, and re-
course must be had to the all-powerful
spectroscope, which has already settled
so many strange problems in astronomy.

The principles which enter into the ap-
plication of the spectroscope to Mars are
readily understood. The planet, we know,
shines by reflected sunlight. Its spec-
trum, therefore, must be identical with
that of the sun, except as it is modified
by the (supposed) atmosphere of Mars,
The spectrum of the sun would be con-
tinuous, i. e., without any lines or breaks,
were it not for the comparatively cool
layer of gases around the sun, a sort of
solar atmosphere which introduces thous-
ands of dark lines in the solar spectrum.
Our own atmosphere modifies the solar
light which passes through it, and adds
to the solar spectrum at least 1,200 lines
called telluric lines, which constitute
what we may term the spectrum of our
atmosphere.

The rays or light coming into our in-
struments from Mars originate in the
sun ; they enter the atmosphere of Mars,
are reflected from the surface of Mars,
back again through its atmosphere, and
reach us after passing through our own
atmosphere. The double passage of the
solar rays through the Martain atmos-

phere will cause a modified spectrum.
How are we going to pick out from the
enormous number of lines in the Mar-
tian spectrum those which are brought
there previously by the double passage
through the planet's atmosphere? Were
it not for the moon, we would be entirely
unable to attack the problem. The moon
has no atmosphere, and if our compari-
son of the lunar and Martian spectrum
show additional lines in the latter we
should be sure they come from the Mars
— but of this we are not certain until the
utmost pains have been taken with the
observations and the infinite variety of
detail has been looked into. Without
going into a summary of these details
it may be said that two years ago Prof.
Lowell thought he had proved that there
was a great supply of water vapor pres-
ent in the atmosphere of Mars. This past
summer Prof. Campbell, director of the
great Lick Observatory, carried to the
top of Mt. Whitney, a very carefully
prepared equipment, and by his observa-
tions there showed that the spectra of
Mars and moon were identical, and that
there was no proof whatever of the as-
sumption that water vapor is present in
large quantities in the atmosphere of
Mars. Prof. Campbell is probably the
greatest authority on spectroscopic mat-
ters to-day, and his opinion should carry
great weight. Indeed, a planet, barren
and desolate, on which life would be
impossible, were it not for irrigation,
but one which is wafted by an atmos-
phere laden with water vapor, seems
to an anomaly difficult to understand !

THE PLANETS.

Mercury will be at the greatest elonga-
tion east from the sun 19° 3' on January
9, and so will be visible as an evening
star a week before and a week after that
date. Though its great southern declina-
tion prevents its being well seen, a close
observer may readily find it in the south-
west, about half an hour after sunset.
Mercury sets less than an hour after the
sun, about 30° south of west. It is said
that the founder of the Copernican the-
ory never saw Mercury. It is an easy
object to pick up, for its brighntess will
be relatively great.

Venus, the bright evening star, will be
higher up in the southwestern sky about
30° towards the east from Mercury. '

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL

?9i

What More was Expected?

I have somewhere read the amusing
account of the substitution of an un-
know temperance lecturer in place of
the expected and famous humorist. A
great audience had assembled and was
waiting anxiously and in risible spirits
for the professional laugh inducer.
Eight o'clock arrived but no humorist,
and the committee began to be worried.
The chairman was as solemn as if it
were to be a funeral instead of a gather-
ing for fun making. Eight-thirty and
still no speaker. There must have been
an accident. Just then a messenger
rushed into the committee room with
a telegram. The humorist had taken
the wrong train and gone to Milton
instead of New Milton, and Milton was
eighty-four miles from the audience.

There was a hurried consultation. A
famous temperance lecturer was
spending a day or two in the vicinity.
He was interviewed. He accepted the
invitation. The audience would not be
disappointed and, as both lecturers
were equally talented in their respec-
tive specialties, no money would need
to be refunded. The temperance lec-
turer and the humorist were strangers
to the audience, but the temperance lec-
turer could be regarded as represented
by the portraits on the placards posted
about the town with no more stretch of
imagination than could be the humorist,
or, by the way, with no more difficulty
to see the resemblance than is usually
required between any public speaker
and his advertised portrait.

The audience was ready to laugh ;
they had come for that purpose. On
account of their eagerness to greet him
whom they supposed to be the delayed
humorist, they for the most part failed
to hear the chairman's explanation, and
supposed that the humorist was to give
them a parody on a temperance lec-
ture. The lecturer stepped forward
and began, with the wide, embracing,
text-like statement: "Ladies and gen-
tlemen, rum is the greatest curse of
the American nation."

Tremendous applause and laughter.

When the noise had somewhat sub-
sided, the famed apostle of Gough
again started in :

"Rum causes more crimes than any
other . ."

But this was lost in the applause and
increased laughter.

The lecturer appealed to the chair-
man. But he was powerless. The
audience was determined to laugh. '

The lecturer started again :

"The one great topic that our voters
must bravely meet and down, or be
downed by it, is rum."

This brought the climax. The state-
ment that voters must "down" rum or
be "downed" by it, was too much. The
uproarious laughter was loud and long.

The lecturer then lost control of his
temper, and yelled at the top of his
voice :

"I was invited to address what I sup-
posed would be courteous and intelli-
gent persons. I have had no experi-

292

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

ence in talking" to lunatics and fools,
and I do not intend to speak any fur-
ther to that class of people."

While I have always enjoyed the
humor of that story, it contained, until
a few months ago, an element that
marred it for me. It did not "ring
true." It seemed "made up." The
humor was there, but the truth of the
art of applying truthfulness was lack-
ing. But this has changed. I now be-
lieve it, because I have had a similar
experience, except that the substitu-
tion was an imaginary one on the part
of the audience (unknown to me) of a
style of supposed nature study as re-
mote from the real kind that I intended
to portray as is a humorist from a
temperance lecturer. I had planned to
speak seriously and enthusiastically of
the charms of country life and of nature
study. The audience had a conception
of nature study based upon certain "en-
tertaining" books, upon "Oh, my !"
stories of animals and upon cer-
tain funny anecdotes about them. I
was intent upon being an instructor
and inspirer of nature study. The
audience was expecting entertainment.
I afterwards ascertained that certain
teachers, in a desire to bring out a
large audience of young folks and with
a misconception of the basis upon
which nature study is founded in cer-
tain widely selling and entertaining fic-
tions, had told their friends how funny
a naturalist is and what "funny things"
he often sees. I am not sure as to how
"funny" I was, but that evening I
surely saw funny things. A wave of
nature study had come to the small
country town, inspired originally by
the reading by a few members of the
women's club and endorsed by the
superintendent of schools and through
him the teachers, thus perpetuating an
erroneous notion of what nature study
actually is. So I found the whole town,
from the inspiring spirit of the women's
club to the youngest member of the
kindergarten, permeated by a certain
modern idea of nature study that only
tinges or largely predominates in other
communities — that is, that nature study
entertains and tells amusing tales of

things that happened somewhere else.

I changed cars on the main line of
railroad to take a primitive branch that
for some thirty-five miles wandered
through a charming country toward
the "inland" village. It was the late
afternoon of a beautiful day in early
spring. I enjoyed the ride, for I love
"wood piles" and farmhouse stations
and running brooks and gracefully
drooping alder catkins and even the
vigorous skunk cabbage. The robins
and the bluebirds were out in full force
and although that branch road was in
the eastern part of the state of New
York, the scenery reminded me of the
farm home of my boyhood in eastern
New England. "All nature is new in
the spring," and I was again a boy
revelling in the coming of the birds,
the early marsh plants and in anticipa-
tions of the approaching joys of being
out of doors. I wished that I were a
poet. I am not, but I could feel that
poetry was being lived everywhere, and
not the less true poetry although un-
seen and unheard — the poetry of life, if
not of expression. Every clump of al-
ders with their pendant catkins inspired
a suppressed hysterical scream of de-
light; every unfolding leaf of skunk
cabbage impelled me to leave the car
and run to the brookside. I wanted
to carry stones, sticks and boards, to
build a dam as I had built dams half
a century ago. Confined and hampered
in a city as I have been for years, I
revelled in the thought of being a country
boy in a place so heavenly as this, and
I lDroke at least one of the command-
ments by coveting the possessions of
every boy and girl that I saw along the
route.

"I suppose you have travelled all over
the world and discovered many strange
and amusing things," the committee's
chairman said as he greeted me.

"Most of my travelling," I replied,
"has been in a little back yard and in
a neighboring ravine and a patch of
woods. I don't suppose that I shall
live long enough to explore even that
region fully, so there is no necessity
for travelling to any great distance."

This seemed to be a disappointment,
and I felt I was not to be counted suc-
cessful if I failed to tell of the antics

EDITORIAL AND GENERAL. 293

of the Nullgowampus in the Wobbilit credulity; it was the height of exag-

Land. gerated absurdity. As a parodying

"But," he persisted, "you have seen humorist, I evidently was a star per-

a great many things that ordinary peo- former. The audience went wild; the

pie do not see." applause and laughter were intense. I

"Yes," I replied, "I have found many was even honored by a stray catcall,

beautiful diatoms, desmids and ento- several whistles and not a few stamp-

mostraca in a tiny pool in my ravine." ings.

"Oh, that is good. And you will tell I must admit that I lost my dignity,

the young folks about these queer and 1 too got mad j did not leave

things?" the stage, but I said a few things

"No," I said, I doubt whether they straight from the shoulder as I was

come within the scope of their observa- compelled to do before I could get even

tions. There are many other things a chance to speak about nature from

that I think are more profitable." my head or from my heart. I talked for

Again I felt that my recommendation one hour on nature study as I under-

from that village would never be stand it. I had order, but the kind of

printed at the top of a circular. But order that comes from fear, not from

the chairman persisted. He evidently interest. The people had met to be

thought me not wholly hopeless, and amused, to be told eye opening and

the idea that I was Nobleau from Hul- mouth opening stories, and I saw that

lygoleaux Land stood out prominently I was not successful. I received my

in his introduction for he said, "Nat- fee, but never a word of appreciation,

uralists see queer things and know how No letter or testimonial has reached

to entertain in telling what they have me, and no second invitation As a

seen." vaudeville performer, as a humorist, as

It is evident, as I now recall it, that an Oh, my!" story teller, I am noi

I had been more inspired by the seen- successful. And I have no such de-

ery along the railroad track than by sire. I am only a student and lover

the conversation with the committee of nature, a preacher of the beauties

or with the chairman in particular, for and the interests to be found in the

my opening sentence arranged itself in uncommon commonplace. That audi-

thisway: ence did not want to be told of the

"You, my young people, are to be "foreign lands" immediately within

congratulated upon living in a land £? territory surrounding their village

where skunk cabbage and alder catkins Jhey wanted to hear from Hubblub

bloom in the spring." Land miles and miles away-

I was interrupted by applause and Strange, isn't it, that the near, the

laughter precious in time and place, never has

,,T , ... . it the attraction, never is so sacred, so

I have enjoyed my journey from the interesti so influential, as the far

land of cities and palaces to the homes something. And the time jg not

of the turtles and spring peepers. ^^ in the f*ture> Fifty yeafS |mm

Tremendous applause and deafening now some boy or girl in that audience,

laughter. As a humorist, I was evi- a wanderer in some now distant land,

dently in their estimation a howling may i00k back to that little village and

success. But somehow I failed to be perhap<r remember, and if he does he

elated by their approval. It seemed as wilI certainly realize, the truth which

if they were applauding somebody else j wished tQ impress> that the wild ter-

that they supposed or hoped that I rf surrounding that village is the

travel " ^^ m°St beautiful on earth- ^ is the

„_, ' , -r , , mission of nature study to annihilate

There are no more beautiful places time and distance> to realize and to em-

in all the earth than the fields, the h . h charms and the beauties

ravines, the roads and the forests sur- K, ,

rounding this village." ot the

This was plainly too much for their HERE AND NOW.

294

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

"The Man With the Hoe" at the Sun-
rise Party.

BY PROFESSOR ARETAS W. NOLAN STATE
UNIVERSITY, WEST VIRGINIA.

One beautiful morning" in June I
planned a sunrise excursion for my na-
ture study class of University students.

" 'UMPH, HELL!' GRUNTED THE OLD MAN
AND, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, TURNED
BACK TO HIS HOE."

We reached the top of a splendid hill
just as the first gray light dawned
in the east. We had come to see the
morning and its great miracle of splen-
dor. We sat down on the crest of the
hill and waited. Gradually a ruddy
light appeared in the east. A flash of

red shot up from. the distant hills; the
mass of overhanging clouds was streak-
ed and splashed with fire. The great
red rim of the sun appeared and the
morning was ushered in with glad-
ness.

We all arose, removed our hats and
stood in silent reverence before this
renewed creation. Several yards from
the foot of the hill a farmhouse gave
evidence of early rising. An old man,
already at his hoe in the garden, had
noticed our strange crowd with bared
heads and suppressed excitement. He
laid his hoe aside' and laboriously
climbed the hill to where we were as-
sembled.

"What's the matter with you folks
up here? Got something treed?" asked
the old man.

We explained to him that we had
come to see the sunrise and began to
point out to him the glories of the
morning, now in full setting.

"Umph, hell!" grunted the old man
and, without further ado, turned back
to his hoe.

You have no doubt diagnosed the
old man's case. His heart was fuller
of the sordidness of hell than it was
of the splendors of heaven, and he did
not see the sunrise though its glories
shone all about him. The great funda-
mental hunger for beauty had died out
of his heart and he had lost the fountain
of youth forever.

Civilization has led too many of us
away from the morning and the sun-
rise and the appreciation of nature's
beauty and splendor, and at the same
time it has led us away from youth-
fulness. If we are no longer moved
by the sunrise or the sunset, if we do
not hear the songs of the birds or see
the sky over our heads or the clods
at our feet, there is something wrong,
— we are growing old too soon and we
may become like the old man at the
sunrise party — unable to see the morn-
ing, for the hell that is in our hearts.

296

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

(ORRESPONDENCE
^ ^r^ and Inform l

Information

A Cure for Poison Ivy.

Tryon, North Carolina.
To the; Editor: —

When in the woods one susceptible
to poison ivy will often find that contact
has been had with it. If so, on reaching
home wash the parts affected and then
bathe with sweet spirits of nitre and also
take from a half to one teaspoonful in a
little water. Repeat this two or three
times at intervals of two or three hours
and the poison will probably never show.

While grindelia is good, it is not al-
ways at hand. Water, as hot as it can be
borne, may be dabbed onto the blisters,
keeping it up for some time. This will
dry them up a-bout as quickly as anything.

H. A. Green.

Scratching a Toad's Back.

Plattsburgh, New York.
To the Editor: —

Walking about the lawn and flower
garden in the early evening I found
numerous toads hopping about, and
having read that they would destroy

many insects harmful to plants, I was
interested in their welfare. Thinking I
would use my camera I put a fine
specimen under a flowerpot, my daugh-
ter objecting, claiming it was unkind;
but in the morning I found it had dis-
appeared, having tunneled through the
sod.

I knew nothing of their habits but
happened with twig in hand to care-
fully approach one, and as I stroked it
gently it would puff out its side with
such perfect satisfaction, and when the
stick touched the other side he turned
the other way, remaining as long as I
continued the treatment and causing
much amusement to those who watched
his blissful contortions.

The friend who assisted me in making
the photograph, which does not do jus-
tice to the situation, said she had never
before taken a toad into her hand, and
I find that most people object to doing
so. But why it should be any more
disagreeable than fish I cannot decide.
(Mrs.) M. E. McDougall.

"AS I STROKED IT GENTLY."

CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION.

297

An Indoor Bird Cage.

St. Albert, Alberta, Canada.
To the Editor: —

I take the liberty of sending yon a
snap shot of one of my indoor aviaries
and you will see by its description that
it is very convenient for keeping cage
birds. Besides affording pleasure to
the bird fancier and allowing him to
keep a collection of interesting birds,
the birds themselves are more comfort-
able than in being caged off one by one
in small, unsuitable cages.

The aviary is six feet high, six feet
long and three feet wide. The bottom
is a deep drawer containing sand, very
easy to clean out. The perches are
stout natural branches replaced once
in a while. The birds kept together are
canaries, zebra finches, Java sparrows,
goldfinches, bullfinches, Australian
grass parrakeets, etc., and to see them
flying around is a fine sight.

There are a lot of foreign finches of
beautiful plumage which are cage bred
and are very happy in an aviary of
that nature.

They are fed on plain canary seed,
millet, rape and hemp and are provided

with good clean water for drinking and
bathing, and with a liberal supply of
sand thrive well.

Hoping this will interest some of
your readers who are cage bird lovers,
I am Yours very sincerely,

R. C. Farrell.

The "Wrestling" Frogs.

Brooklyn, New York.
To the Editor:

Last July while I was sitting by a
small pool of shallow water, a good-
sized frog gave a characteristic "cher-
oog," showing his bulging eyes above
the water. A minute later he and a
somewhat smaller frog were wrestling
like two schoolboys, the nose of one
close in the neck of the other, both
making gurgling, froggy noises. The
"arms" of each were about the other's
neck, the two standing on extreme tip-
toes. At length they plunged into the
water in real somersault only to rise
and renew the wrestling.

Soon the smaller frog swam off, the
larger one resuming his quiet pose
with eyes just above the water line.

298

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

He repeated an occasional deep-toned
"cher-oog," but whether it was a note
of triumph or a call to another round,
I could not tell, and perhaps it was
neither.

Caroline M. Hartwell.

The Thrush Came Back.

Stamford, Connecticut.
To the Editor :

In the spring of 1898, while walking
through the woodlands on the outskirts
of Stamford, I chanced to see a little
bird lying by the roadside. It was ap-
parently left there at its own resource
with no one to take care of it.

I picked the bird up, carried it home
and gave it good care — as well as any
one could under the circumstances, as
the bird was four or five weeks old. I
took care of it during the following
summer, and in the fall decided to let
it fly south with the others of its kind.

The following spring when the birds
came north a neighbor of mine, Mr.
Frank Merritt, came to me and asked
if I had lost a bird. He said one
had tried to get in my window in dif-
ferent ways. He caught the bird and
handed it to me, and I recognized it
as the same one I let fly the previous
fall. To make sure of this I put it

into a cage the same as before and
gave it food and water. It acted as
though it had always been in the cage.
I kept it there for two or three days
until the weather was warmer, and
then let it fly. As it soared up in the
air it chirped and flew away, and that
was the last I saw of my pet.

Otto M. Makowsky.

An official of the Marconi Wireless
Telegraph Company of America re-
cently informed the writer that about
forty wireless telegraph instruments
were in action at one time in the New
York Harbor at the Hudson-Fulton
celebration. This was undoubtedly the
invention's severest test in a maze of
wireless "waves." Although there was
some difficulty, yet each pair of in-
struments could keep in "tune." The
official compared the situation to sixty
or eighty people in a room all of dif-
ferent voices in tone and pitch. Each
couple could continue conversation,
only by "ignoring" the others and
centering all attention on a particular
voice. While this center of "atten-
tion" might be distracted for a time,
it could take up the conversation in
a "lull" and go on as before.

t^VAVAVWAVAVAVAV^VA^Z^jaS^^JaSgLi^^ •

PWPWHMBgBBSgggHPWW

rx?T}X>^nTXJ-rrrrrrr<yj>j?o<^^ COBBQOnoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOQOCCPOa

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR

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Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

Minerals of Rye, New York.

BY WM. C. BANKS, STAMFORD, CONNECTI-
CUT.

A fairly good locality for minerals
is the serpentine ridge at Rye, West-
chester County, New York. In addi-
tion to the published list of minerals
from there I have personally collected
and have in my possession the follow-
ing: phlogopite crystals, purplish color ;
deweylite. These two minerals are

intermixed forming a vein through the
serpentine. Nephrite, yellow green to
grayish in color, a reddish chrome
chlorite, similar to the Pennsylvania
kammererite in appearance, nodular
coating chromite. There is a great deal
of vein material intermediate in char-
acter between deweylite and serpen-
tine. I have found three good speci-
mens of an amphibole mineral partly
altered to serpentine, and — there is ser-

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR.

299

pentine enough to go around. Aside
from the minerals, this locality is of
geological interest as it is a good typi-
cal example of serpentine as an altered
intrusive mass among gneiss rocks.

A Few More Incidents.

KY WILLIAM C. BANKS, STAMFORD, CON-
NECTICUT.

Our particular passion is not always
appreciated by others, but I do think
one of my friends took a rather unfair
way of making me move on one day.
When I much preferred to stop and
search for garnets. We, that is, myself
and two others, had been on a walk up
to North Stamford to see the water
company's new dam, where we found
certain geological features which I
may describe later. On the way home,
we passed a locality where good-sized
garnets occur, and two of us began
searching for them, much to the disgust
of our friend, who was, I dare say,
tired. Now, in this neighborhood, are
two sanitariums, where the mentally
afflicted are cared for, and this fur-
nished the ammunition he used on us.
After entreating, exhorting and wax-
ing sarcastic all to no purpose, as a
party of strangers was passing, he
walked up to us with an air of authority
and said, "Come, this won't do, you
know Dr. G. said I was to bring you
back by two o'clock?" and then he
viewed our wrath and disgust with an
unholy glee. We moved. So, you see,
some at least of those we meet class us
with infants, imbeciles and other irre-
sponsible folk. But so long as we get
our share of sunlight, fresh air, pretty
scenery and minerals, we can disregard
the carping of the unregenerate.

Grantham, New Hampshire, Minerals.

Grantham, New Hampshire.

To the Editor:

Several weeks ago I received a copy
of The Guide to Nature and read it
with increasing interest and pleasure.
I am interested in one department of
which it treats, geology, especially so
in mineralogy.

I have found and collected in this
town, Grantham, many beautiful quartz

crystals. Some of these crystals are
part green and the other part of the
same crystals nearly transparent as
glass.

There are ledges in this town so full
of garnets that one cannot step with-
out treading on them. Many of these
garnets have become so weather-
worn and broken they can be scraped
up by handfuls.

In some parts of the town fine speci-
mens of staurolite are found. Dana
speaks of them as remarkably good.

Near the centre of the town, and run-
ning in a northerly direction, there is
a ledge, from thirty to fifty feet in
height and several rods long. This
ledge is mostly agate with thin layers
of chalcedony, and in places in the
form of burls which, if polished, would
make beautiful specimens. The agate
is of several colors, and when polished
these are indeed beautiful specimens,
as the writer knows for he has several
in his cabinet. I have also picked up
in some of the roads here fine speci-
mens of jasper.

In several places on some of the hills
in town, striae may be seen on the
ledges — evidence of the drift or ice
period. These marks or grooves are
more numerous on some of the ledges
in the neighboring town oi Springfield,
and are quite large and deep and may
be seen at quite a distance from them.
Some of the ledges in that town, also
are full of fibrolite, and many quite
large slabs of it have been carried away
for ornamental purposes.

Recently the writer helped a friend
blast a rock out of a ditch he was dig-
ging. The rock, or more correctly
ledge, was two or three feet below the
surface of the ground, and we were sur-
prised at the discovery made. I mail
under separate cover a few specimens
of it. I call it radiated hornblend. Am
I mistaken? Please let me know. The
specimens are not large but good, and
I think quite pretty.

Yours truly,
Rev. George A. Tyrrel.

(Editor. — You are right. The min-
eral sent was radiated hornblend.)

3oo

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

Notes on Mineville, Essex County, New
York, and Nearby Localities.

BY ALFRED C. HAWKINS,
CORRESPONDING MEMBER PHILADELPHIA
MINERALOGICAL CLUB, SEWAREN, NEW
JERSEY.

On the western shore of Lake Cham-
plain, fifteen or twenty miles north of
the southern extremity of the lake,
Crown Point, famous for its historical
associations, juts out from the New
York side. South of the point the lake
is more or less narrow and even
swampy at times. There is one spot
along this portion where high bluffs
approach closely, and here are the ruins
of the well-known Fort Ticonderoga.
North of Crown Point the lake imme-
diately widens into a bay which is three
or four miles across; further north the
lake reaches a maximum width of ten
miles. At Crown Point the distance
between the shores of New York and
Vermont does not exceed a few hun-
dred yards. Crown Point itself is rela-
tively low, broad and flat ; the opposite
shore shows the same characteristics
for fifteen or twenty miles east from the
lake; at that distance the Green Moun-
tains of Vermont rise like a wall,
stretching with a long, irregular sky
line from northeast to southeast. Crown
Point would naturally be a strong van-
tage point for the control of traffic on
Lake Champlain. The old fort, built
there in Revolutionary times, though
scarcely one hundred feet above the
level of the lake, had full command of
the water way because of its very nar-
rowness at this point. The fort ruins
consist of great embankments, ar-
ranged in the shape of a star, with a
moat outside and great stone barracks
still standing within. They mark a
practically impregnable position.

Crown Point is composed of strata of
limestone, of Paleozoic age, which out-
crop with a steep dip. This brings
many successive strata into view on
the broad land surface here exposed.
This locality is chiefly interesting for
the fossils, of varying ages, which are
quite abundant and often perfectly pre-
served. The mineral locality that ap-
pears as "Crown Point" on the labels,
is near the station of that name on the
railroad, and must be four miles distant

by road from the fort which is on the
end of the point. The minerals are
found near the contact of the lime-
stones with the crystalline gneisses of
the highlands. A sort of apatite called
eupyrchroite, in mammillary, grayish
green masses, is fairly abundant in the
limestone here. It is indicated that the
apatite found at this place has been
mined but is now no longer worked.
Apatite is also reported in elongated,
terminated prisms in the limestone. In
the same formation come fine brown
tourmalines, chlorite, quartz crystals,
calcite and pyrite crystals. In the
gneiss, at the contact, are brown garnet
crystals of good quality, wernerite,
oligoclase (aventurine), zircon crystals,
chalcopyrite and epidote in small, im-
perfect crystals. It may be added that
these are not always as easily found as
it might at first appear. However, the
locality is evidently a good one and
well worth a visit.

The Ticonderoga locality is well
known, chiefly on account of its excep-
tional production of graphite. Other
minerals are evidently not lacking,
however, and it might be worth while
to enumerate them as reported :
Ticonderoga. Kirby Graphite Mine, 3
M. N. W. Ticonderoga.

Graphite (crystals and folia), pyrox-
ene (large, dark green crystals carrying
inclusions of calcite), wernerite (per-
fect crystals), titanite (yellowish gray
crystals), tourmaline (black), apatite,
calcite and quartz. These seem to occur
in crystalline limestone, gneiss and
schist.

The other Ticonderoga locality is at
Chilson Lake (Paragon Lake) where,
in contact, gneiss and limestone are
found : apatite, garnet, pyroxene (crys-
tals and coccolite), Vesuvianite, wer-
nerite, magnetite and blue calcite.

The more famous of these, the
graphite locality, which we usually
associate with the name, Ticonderoga,
is very difficult of access, so much so,
in fact, as to be visited by few collect-
ors.

Northwest from the end of Crown
Point, across the bay formed by that
promontory, appears the town of Port
Henry, New York. The most striking
features of the town, when seen from

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR.

301

a distance, are a good sized iron furnace
with black iron stacks and a square
building of white concrete which turns
out to be the power house that supplies
the mines some distance away. This
power house, by the way, is located
along the lake shore on an exceedingly
flat topped promontory that on closer
inspection is found to be an old dump of
blast furnace slag. Three more iron
furnaces once stood along this shore
line, but all have now disappeared save
one which, nevertheless, is working
energetically at present. Back of the
shore line the hills rise somewhat
abruptly. As we go from this point
further west the hills rapidly increase
in height and finally become the Adi-
rondacks.

The great ore bodies of this part of
the Adirondacks are located at Mine-
ville, about six miles west of Port
Henry, at an altitude of thirteen hun-
dred feet above the sea. The ore is
magnetite arranged in lenses or pod-
shaped bodies in the old gneisses of the
mountains. For many years these de-
posits have been mined. The old meth-
ods were, as usual, wasteful and failed
to remove much good and easily acces-
sible ore. This was especially true of
Barton Hill, a small hill or mountain
from which much ore was taken, the
working in which was subsequently
abandoned and became flooded with
water. About two years ago a narrow
tunnel was run into the hill from the
valley below, tapping the old workings
and running off almost all the accumu-
lated water so that no pumping had to
be done. The same tunnel keeps the
mine always dry. The Barton Hill
Mine deserves our special attention
since it is the locality whence came the
wonderful little magnetite octahedrons
that have made Mineville famous
among collectors. Much of the ore
(magnetite) is very coarsely crystal-
line, and careful pounding will often
disclose some grains which show a
very well developed, though modified,
octahedral form. The best octahedrons
were, however, found in a schistose
rock. The largest one of these ever
found, it is claimed, is now owned by
the company operating the mine. This
crvstal is an octahedron, one and one-

half inches on each edge, and so per-
fect that it is said to fit perfectly into
its niche in the matrix, no matter which
side goes in first.

Much of the ore at Barton Hill has
fluorite associated with it, grains of
fluorite and magnetite being intermin-
gled. The fluorite is never purple but
is light green in color. Apatite also
occurs similarly, in quantity, rendering
some of the ore quite red in color and
unfit for processes in which an ore low
in phosphorus is required. Much ore is
also titaniferous, the titanite occurring
in the ore like the fluorite and the apa-
tite. However, the grains of titanite
are quite crystalline and often very
perfect crystals are formed of quite
large size. One was found of more
than one inch in diameter, and a frag-
ment of another one that must have
been two and one-half inches across.
These titanites occur with the mag-
netite, augite (good black crystals) and
crystalline calcite, making very attrac-
tive specimens. Scapolite appears in
fine light green crystals of perfect de-
velopment, often in groups several
inches in length. Garnet crystals occa-
sionally show zircon and feldspars
come together.

Another opening near Barton Hill is
"Mine 21," which is working a nearby
deposit of similar ore. Some coarse
pegmatite was encountered in this
mine, in which are many zircon crystals
of fine development. They show the
usual tetragonal prism, but they have
developed two pyramids (both of the
same order as the prism), instead of
one, as is usually the case. These
zircons are altered to a gray color, and
around each crystal in the quartz and
feldspar is a slight red spot and a series
of radiating cracks, such as are des-
cribed by Mr. E. T. Wherry in his
report on the radio-active minerals of
Pennsylvania. "Mine 21" consists of
a great open cut three hundred and fifty
feet deep, from which branch out tun-
nels connecting it with the other near-
by mines.

Another opening near Mineville, evi-
dently the Sanford ore bed, produces
fine large crystals of allanite, also in
coarse pegmatite.

At Port Henrv, on the shore of the

302

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

lake, there outcrops a belt of highly
metamorphosed limestone. Limestone,
naturally, was just what the iron fur-
naces needed as a flux for the ore ;
hence, there are large quarries, now
abandoned, from which interesting
mineral specimens have come. Some
very fine calcite crystals, showing rare
forms, came from here some years ago.
Other minerals are : pyroxene (black
crystals, and white and pink diopside
crystals) pyrite crystals, pyrrhotite,
graphite, amphibole, wollastonite, or-
thoclase, titanite and brown tourmaline.
Rutile was also found, in a fine gemmy
crystal an inch long. There are more

minerals at this locality than those-
given in the list, and some good ones
are easily obtainable, making attractive
specimens because of the white lime-
stone matrix.

Glaciation is very prominent in this
region, and many of the limestone out-
crops on Crown Point are rounded and
polished in a way that is truly wonder-
ful, and covered with long, deep, paral-
lel scratches. Hand specimens are at-
tractive and often useful. Basalt dikes
often appear in the gneisses, but they
do not make good specimens because
the contacts are seldom welded ones.

The Under Bark Grub.

BY S. F. AARON, REDDEN, DELA.

A very common larva inhabiting the
northern portions of the United States

A CENTIPEDE ATTACKING AN UNDER-BARK
GRUB.

and found under the decaying bark
of nearly every kind of tree has been
called the under bark grub. Go into
the woods, find any old, fallen log or

decaying trunk, rip off the bark thereof
and in nearly every instance these yel-
lowish white, segmented larvae will
be seen within the shallow borings
that cut away merely the outer por-
tion of the wood. Flatness is the char-
acteristic of this insect stage. Nothing
that the writer knows of, excepting
neither the cockroach, silver bug nor
elater beetle, is nearly so thin from
front to back, or rather, from under-
neath to above, while the width of
each segment is about normal in com-
parison to the larva of the Coleoptera.
The flat head of the grub is brownish
black with rather small, sharp mandi-
bles for feeding on decaying wood.
The posterior segment is dark brown
and in miniature something like the
horns of a cow or like a small bent
forceps, the inner margin being almost
circular. The use of this forcep-like
appendage is not known ; the points
are not movable in opposition, and
therefore, cannot grasp anything. The
first three segments of the body have
each a pair of legs, the rest of the body

THE INTEREST IN INSECTS.

30s

THE UNDER-BARK GRUB AND ITS BEETLE. (Dendroides Canadensis.)
The outer bark of the dead dogwood branch, torn away to show the borings of the larvae under
the bark. The beetle is less than one-half inch long, the larvae about one and one-half inches when
full-grown. The pupa is white. A cross section through the seventh segment of the grub is shown at a
and through the 7th segment, with the legs, at b.

3°4

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

is dragged slowly after. Placed on a
smooth surface, as a piece of glass or
varnished table top, the insect has a
difficult time in propelling itself for-
ward. In every case it reminds one
somewhat of a slow train of cars, the
head and first three segments repre-
senting an overloaded freight engine.
Although the grub is exceedingly com-
mon, the pupa and the beetle into
which it transforms are quite rare.
This is because the larvae are com-
monly a prey to those busy little birds,
the woodpeckers and nut hatches.
The abundance of the larvae is ex-
plained by the fact that each beetle
having, by sheer good fortune reached
maturity, lays a great number of eggs,
one at a time here and there, in the
crevices of decaying bark.

But the birds are not its only enemy.
Large predaceous beetles sometimes
kill it, probably it also has a parasite.
The common little red centipede, Scol-
opendra, almost as flat as the grub
and a hundred times more active, some-
times attacks, kills and devours, in
part, the under bark grub. Hundred-
legger is a common name for this sav-
age little creature, though actually it
generally has but from twenty-four to
thirty-eight legs. The centipede fol-
lows the burrows of the larvae or

crawls at random under the loosening
bark. Sometimes it will crawl over a
larva without attacking it, at other
times it will seize the beetle larva at
once and if the centipede is about the
size or less than its intended victim,
there is a struggle, the grub moving
far more quickly than usual.

The Cocoons on the Sassafras Tree.

BY W. E. BRITTON, STATE ENTOMOLOGIST,
NEW HAVEN, CONN.

I wonder if every reader of The
Guide to Nature has not at some time
or other seen the queer club-shaped
cocoons hanging from the bare
branches of the sassafras tree or the
wild cherry. They were made during
the preceding summer, and represent
the chrysalis or pupa stage of one of
our commoner species of large moths,
called the Promethea moth, Callosamia
promethea Drury. The caterpillar
feeds upon the sassafras, wild cherry,
and sometimes the plum, and is shown
in figure I.

Including the stem, the cocoon is
about three inches long, and is usually
formed by rolling up a leaf and mak-
ing the cocoon inside it after having
spun and wound many threads of fine
silk about the leaf petiole and the
twig to which it is attached as is shown

FIG. 1. THE PROMETHEA CATERPILLAR. FIG. 2. THE COCOON ROLLED IN A LEAF

FIG. 3. THE MOTH JUST EMERGED.

THE INTEREST IN INSECTS.

305

FIG 4.

FIG. 5.

FIG. 6.

in figure 2. Such a leaf never falls like
the others, but is so well fastened to
the tree that it is difficult to pull it off
without actually cutting the threads.
The edges of the dry leaf usually
break away, leaving the cocoon bare.

Each year the writer receives from
correspondents, who wonder what
they are, a number of these cocoons,
which are usually placed in the breed-
ing cages and forgotten. Perhaps sev-
eral weeks or months afterwards a
fluttering in one of the cages will re-
mind us that the moths are emerging.

One year in June, while working in
the laboratory, I noticed that a Pro-
methea moth had just emerged from
one of the cocoons. The camera was
hurriedly set up, and at the earliest
possible moment (11 :28 A. M.) a pho-
tograph was taken of this soft brown
crumple-winged object that hardly re-
sembled a moth. (See figure 3.) At
11:33, Just fiye minutes later, a second
exposure was made, with the result
shown in figure 4. Notice how the
wings had elongated and straightened
out. They had taken on form and
color patterns ; and all the while they
kept moving slightly. At 11:50 a
third picture was taken (figure 5), and
by this time the wings were much
broader and had assumed the usual
form and color found in the species.
Twenty-five minutes later (12:15) tne
wings were about full size and were
quite hard and firm (figure 6). It
proved to be a male. All the afternoon

he remained hanging downward from
the twig, but after a time spread his
wings. Not until after dark would he
test them in flight. The last photo-
graph (figure 7) was taken at 3:10 P.
M., and shows the upper surface of the
wings. All photographs were taken with-
out moving the camera from the posi-
tion where first set. They illustrate

FIG. 7.

the rapid wing development which
takes place in nearly every moth and
butterfly on emerging from the chrys-
alis to assume the adult state. No
one can adequately describe it, but it
is easy for every one to observe. Moth
cocoons can be gathered in late winter
or early spring, and butterfly cocoons
at almost any time during the sum-
mer. Place them in a ventilated glass
or wire cage, with a twig inside for
them to climb upon, and watch them
from day to day. Finally you will be

306

THE GUIDE TO NATURE. -

rewarded by witnessing one of the
most remarkable morphological trans-
formations that occur in the whole
realm of living organisms .

Observations on Grasshoppers and
Ants.

Dorchester, Mass.
To the Editor:

Do you remember that several years
ago I wrote to you, asking why grass-
hoppers prefer white dresses to darker
or colored ones?

I heard, not long ago, of an inter-
esting case where a lady found that
instead of preferring white, grasshop-
pers were particularly attracted to a
certain pink dress of hers — not all pink
dresses but a certain pink one of cot-
ton material. While she found very
few on her white or other dresses, after
a walk in this pink one she would be
fairly covered with them, and before
having the dress laundered the plaits
always had to be ripped to get out
the dead grasshoppers !

Isn't that strange? Do you suppose
it had anything to do with the material
or was it only a certain shade of pink?

We spent a few very pleasant weeks
this summer in Wrentham, Massachu-
setts. The country about there is very
pretty and interesting, and the lay of
the land rather peculiar. The fields
were not level or even gently rolling
but full of steep, high mounds which
we called horsebacks, and these were
alternated with deep depressions like
punch bowls. I found many flowers
there which were new to me and there
was a great variety of birds.

My sister saw an interesting scene
one day which took place between two
colonies of ants. One colony was of
ordinary black ants, the other of red.
The two colonies were a long distance
apart, separated by the steep slope of
a hill, but the red ants from the higher
nest were making a raid on the nest
of their neighbors below and carrying
away their young, as I suppose, which
were in the quiescent stage and re-
sembled eggs about a quarter or an
eighth of an inch long.

The black ants rushed madly about

not seeming to know what to do or
how to defend their property while
the red ants in one continuous stream
carried the "eggs" from their neigh-
bors' nest to their own and dis-
appeared with them underground.
I have heard of ants stealing the
young of other species to bring up as
their "slaves." Is that what these were
doing?

I afterwards accidentally uncovered
two nests, both of red ants I think,
and found in them great heaps of these
white "eggs." In one the older ants
immediately set to work to carry them
deeper into the earth and in an almost
incredibly short time the whole mound
had disappeared. In the other nest
there seemed to be no full grown ants
at all — only young ones, apparently
newly hatched, with wings, and a small
heap of "eggs." Just what were these
"eggs." All the young ants we found
were red. Do both species pass
through very similar stages in de-
velopment?

Very sincerely yours,

Dorothv A. Baldwin.

Gunning For Bugs.

Tuesday night Ralph C. Wright and .
a companion were out two and a half .
miles west of town hunting. Shortly
after six o'clock they heard a buzzing !
and humming noise which they could ;
not account for, until looking up they •
saw the sky fairly black with large
beetles flying from the west toward the
east. There appeared to be thousands
of them and being curious to know
what they were they took a few shots
at them. A number were brought
down and one was brought to
this office by Mr. Wright . It proved
to be the common black boat shaped water
scavenger beetle known to scientists
as Tropistemus triangularis. It is one of
the largest beetles, being one and a
half inches in length. They were un-
doubtedly flying from the waters of
the Basin west of this city to some
other body of water east of the city.- —
Warren Knaus, McPherson, Kansas,
in "Entomological News."

W V s» s» s»

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

307

X&&€<<€€<<^<£CCtl<&€€CCt<<<<C<<<<<<^^^

••••••

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

Personal Explanatory Note: — Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing Chap-
ters are represented bv this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years
•of age) are referred to' my department ("Nature and Science") in the "St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen-
tury Company, New York City.— Edward F. Bigelow.

Bigek

The Boat and Its Occupants.

Go to the bank, take the boat and
pull out into the pond to gather the
beautiful white lilies. You and the
boat are to cooperate — the end is worth
while. Neither the boat's carrying,
nor your pulling will achieve the re-
sults unaided by the other.

So it is with The Agassiz Associa-
tion and its members. The Home
office may "carry" you on its books or
you may study isolated. But it is only
when the carrying capacity of the AA
and your enthusiastic efforts are com-
bined that best results are achieved.
We are the boat ; you are the occupant ;
the lilies of this world are plentiful.
We can get them if only we cooperate.
An empty boat floating or an enthu-
siast dancing and yelling on the bank
will neither of them bring in many
lilies.

The Audubon Societies Desire a Mil-
lion More Dollars.

The National Association of Audu-
bon Societies has now in its treasury
over one-third of a million dollars.
This fund enables the association to
carry on its legislative work for ideal
bird laws, and for the care and increase
of bird reservations.

At the recent annual meeting, the
President, William Dutcher, called for
an endowment "the minimum sum of
which should be one million dollars,"
to carry on the educational work of
the Association.

The Agassiz Association extends
most hearty wishes to its younger yet
enterprising and prosperous Audubon
Association that the million and more
may be obtained. It is true that sev-
eral millions can be devoted to good

advantage to birds alone, and much
more to all nature (including birds).

The President of The Audubon As-
sociation says :

"It is the chief function of this As-
sociation to educate the whole mass
of our fellow citizens regarding the
value of wild birds and the intimate
relation that exists between them and
agriculture. If we can devise some
means of imparting such knowledge to
the whole mass of the people, we will
most surely show them that it is to
their interest to preserve birds, and
when we have succeeded in doing
this, the result desired, the preserva-
tion of birds, will surely follow."

Park Life Chapter of the AA.

We cordially welcome an energetic
company of one hundred and sixty-
one — boys, young men and a few men
and women — Park Life Chapter, No.
102 1, of Dubuque, Iowa.

I am personally acquainted with
many of the members of this new Chap-
ter and am confident that good work
will be done.

The officers are as follows :

President — A. F. Paley.

Vice-President — A. T. Woller.

Recording Secretary — Geo. Ehmer.

Corresponding Secretary — Robt. E.
Young.

Treasurer — R. J. Johnston.

Chapter No. 1021 constitutes the en-
tire membership of the great new
"Park Life" educational movement as
explained in the November issue of
The Guide to Nature. With the in-
spiration and hard work by Prof. B. J.
Horchem this new idea is sure to grow.
This affiliation of his work and that
of the AA is sure to be beneficial to
both.

3o8

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A Marine Army on the March.

BY JOHN S. FERNALD, BELFAST, MAINE.

An army of porpoises on the march
was one of the most interesting sights
witnessed by the party of gold hunters
on board the bark William O. Alden
during her voyage in 1849-50, from
Belfast, Maine, to San Francisco. Al-
though nearly sixty years have elap-
sed the life habits of these Cetaceans
have changed but little, if any, and
similar marches might be witnessed at
the appointed seasons and places at
the present day. Unlike their cousins,
the seals, and their greater relatives
among the marine mammals, the
whales, and the salmon, cod, mack-
eral and other food fishes of the two
great oceans, these denizens of the
mighty deep have not been hunted
very extensively by man ; hence their
migrations, feeding grounds and breed-
ing places experience little change as
the decades roll by.

Mr. Henry J. Woods, one of the
"Forty-niners," now of Newton Centre,
Massachusetts, made the following
entry in his diary of the voyage, the
account being the next in order after
his report of leaving the island of
Juan Fernandez :

"The next day we saw a school of por-
poises going the opposite way from us,
the army extending on each side as
far as the eye could reach. They
swam in regular files, like soldiers, each
following his file leader, and so intent
were they on the business in hand that
they paid no attention to us, but simply
opened the ranks, by right and left
oblique movement, to allow the vessel
to pass through, and immediately
closed up again. We wondered, as we
watched them, whether they were a
great army going forth to battle under
a brave and skillful leader, or were
they following a natural instinct in
search of food by migration to other
feeding grounds."

why one thing is beautiful to us and
another not — why persons, combina-
tions, etc., that are beautiful to one are
often not so to another — and why one
man sees so much beauty in the world,
another so little. The explanation is,
that beauty and love are correlatives ;
they are the objective and subjective
aspects of the same thing. Beauty has
no existence apart from love, and love
has no existence apart from beauty.
Beauty is the shadow of love
thrown upon the outer world. We
do not love a person or thing because
the person or thing is beautiful, but
whatever we love, that is beautiful to
us, and whatever we do not love, is
not beautiful.— Dr. R. M. Bucke. "Walt
Whitman."

Love Creates Beauty.

But the Poet is the master of beauty,
and his mastery consists in command-
ing and causing things which were not
before considered beautiful to become
so. How does he do this? Before this
can be answered we must understand

An Incident In Birdlife.

BY L. M. BRAINERD, LA GRANGE, ILL.

One warm forenoon in late August,
the Idler lay in his hammock under the
huge willow that made the whole back-
yard of the suburban lot a shady re-
treat. Strong winds from the south
swung the lithe branches to and fro in
steady rhythm and hurried great
masses of white clouds steadily north-
ward. Seven or eight young robins
were running about under a row of
raspberry bushes that marked the
north limit of the lawn, but the Idler
had forgotten them in the joy of weav-
ing dreams among the clouds, when he
was disturbed by a peculiar snapping
noise, as if some crackling twig had
suddenly grown actively animate.

Turning quietly to find the cause,
the Idler saw a young robin, not a rod
away, hopping excitedly back and
forth, now charging with vicious peck
at some tumbling object in the grass,
then retreating with ridiculous precipi-
tation. Eager to see what prey drew
forth such a violent exhibition of
energy, the Idler drove Sir Robin off
and picked up a luckless cicada, then
able to do nothing but flop about, head
down and wings persistently snapping.
Deciding that the cicada was already
too far along in the fulfillment of his
destiny, for human interference, his
observer tossed him back upon the
close-cropped clover and withdrew to
watch the game.

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

309

The former captor started at once
for his big game, his assault watched
by six other robins and the Idler. A
comical charger young specklebreast
was, as he sturdily resumed his original
tactics of advance and retreat. At
length he ventured upon closer hand to
hand conflict, bestowing well-directed
blows upon the struggling cicada, each
blow climaxed by a frightened upward
hop with uplifted wings.

By this time a brother robin, scent-
ing a feast, ran up to join the fray,
when, presto ! without warning, a bolt
from a clear sky shot down most liter-
ally— a blot of blue, — one hissing satir-
ical shriek, the snap of a big bill, and
away flew the robber — an impudent
jay — with the doomed cicada in his
beak. Startled though he was. the

rightful owner quickly recovered him-
self and shot off in pursuit, only to
meet rout and mockery in the top of a
neighboring boxelder.

But the second robin was so stunned
by the enemy's charge that for fully
two minutes he stood, or rather
crouched, bird-fashion, close to the
grass, head down in front, and flat-
tened, every muscle tense and not a
feather moving. At length, seeing no
new developments, he cautiously pulled
himself together and began to inspect
the scene of the struggle. Back and
forth across the spot he ran, examining
the clover as if he thought it might
hold some clew to the startling events
of the past ten minutes. Apparently
failing to satisfy himself as to the mys-
terv, he finally flew away.

IlTERARY

BIOGRAPHICAL

WAITING.

By John Burroughs, AVest Park, New York.

Serene, I fold my hands and wait.

Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea;
I rave no more 'gainst Time or Fate,

For lo! my own shall come to me.

I stay my haste,. I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?

I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.

Asleep, awake, by night or day,

The friends I seek are seeking me;

No wind can drive my bark astray,
Nor change the tide of destiny.

What matter if I stand alone?

I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap where it hath sown,

And garner up its' fruits of tears.

The waters know their own, and draw
The brook that springs in yonder heights;

So flows the good with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delights.

The stars' that come nightly to the sky;

The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,

Can keep my own from me.

— Published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,
Boston and New York.

WORKING.

By Edward F. Bigelow, Arcadia; Sound
Beach, Connecticut.
(With apologies to John Burroughs
"Waiting.")
Alert, I make my life advance,

Against the wind, the tide, the sea,
I wait no more for Time or Chance,
By work I'll fetch my own to me.

I make all haste, I shun delays',

For much rewards this eager pace,

I stand amid the eternal ways,

And mine I'll force to know my face.

Asleep, awake, by night or day,

The work I seek is meeting me;
No wind shall drive my bark astray
Nor change the port I'm bound to see.

What matter if I stand alone?

I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap what hands have sown

And garner fruits without the tears.

The mill wheels know their own, and grind
By brooks that spring in yonder height,

So work will win and ever find

Success for him who strives with might.

The stars their duty never shirk,

The tidal wave uplifts the sea,
So sure shall I, by plans, by work,

Collect my own right here to me.

3io

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

D'ri and I. A Tale of Daring Deeds in the
second War with the British. Being the
Memoirs' of Colonel Ramon Bell, U. S. A.
By Irving Bacheller. Illustrated by P. C.
Yohn. New York : Harper and Brothers.

"D'ri and I" is a spirited tale of love and
action in the war-times of 1812. Its scene
is laid in the North Country, and D'ri, with
his rugged strength, rough humor, and un-
daunted courage, is a splendid type of the
time and genuine creation.

Silas Strong; Emperor of the Woods. By

Irving Bacheller. New York: Harper and
Brothers.

A story of the Adirondacks, replete with
the spirit of the woods. "Uncle Sile" is a
philosopher who thinks much and says little
— a "one-word man," but a genuine humorist,
with fountains of sly laughter in him. The
heroine is a delightful daughter of the wood-
lands, and her romance breathes of the
mountain air. Altogether it is the best and
strongest story Mr. Bacheller has yet writ-
ten.

Eben Holden's Last Day A-Fishing. By

Irving Bacheller. New York: Harper and
Brothers.

This is a new story of Eben Holden. It
reveals' him, old though he is, a true lover
of good sport, and shows that time cannot
change his gentle humor, his caustic wis-
dom, and his simple kindness. The book
gives' two pictures, one of fishing on a sum-
mer day, the other of Christmas-time in
Eben Holden's old-fashioned country home.

Barrel of the Blessed Isles. By Irving
Bacheller. Illustrated by Arthur I. Kel-
ler. Boston : Lathrop Publishing Com-
pany.

Darrell, the clock tinker, is a wit, phil-
osopher, and man of mystery. Learned,
strong, kindly, dignified, he towers like a
giant above the people among whom he
lives. In him Mr. Bacheller has created a
character as new and lovable as Eben
Holden but more fascinating.

The Master. By Irving Bacheller. New York:
Doubleday, Page and Company.

This is a wholesome and unique tale of
outdoor life. It has a great hero, who with-
out a word of preaching lives a great life.

Vergilius. A Tale of the Coming Christ.
By Irving Bacheller. New York: Harper
and Brothers.

This beautiful and stirring story opens in
Rome, is straightway transferred to Jeru-
salem and Jericho, and ends in Bethlehem
with the birth of Christ. While depicting
the momentous events of those times as they
affected the hero and heroine, two young

patrician Roman lovers, the story has woven
through its mazes like a thread of pure gold
the growing expectancy of the coming Christ
and the gradual growth of the higher con-
ceptions of human love.

Eben Holden. A Tale of the North Coun-
try. By Irving Bacheller. New York:
Harper and Brothers.

If, in the far future, our successors wish
to know what were the real life and at-
mosphere in which the country folk that
saved this nation grew, loved wrought, and
had their being, they must go back to such
true and zestful poetic tales of "fiction" as
"Snow Bound" and ''Eben Holden." — Ed-
mund Clarence Stedman.

New Physical Geography. By Ralph S. Tarr,
B.S. New York: The Macmillan Company.

This is a more detailed presentation of
the science than that in the earlier book
by the same author, "Lessons in Physical
Geography."

Professor Tarr modestly says: "The au-
thor does not flatter himself that he has
produced the ideal: his only hope is that
he has done better in his third attempt
than he did in the other two."

Lessons in Physical Geography. By Charles
R. Dryer, M.A., F.G.S.A. Professor of
Geography, Indiana State Normal School.
New York: American Book Company.

In this book the best type form of phy-
sical features are treated in sufficient full-
ness to give a clear and definite picture.
From these type forms' the student can
easily solve many geographical problems.

The Nature-Study Idea. An Interpretation
of New School-Movement to put the Young
into Relation and Sympathy with Nature.
By L. H. Bailey. New York: The Mac-
millan Company.

Here is a book that teaches "nature-study"
that is living, and for life, not for a tem-
porary fill-a-requirement in the schoolroom.
The author truly says :

"Nature-study is not synonymous with the
old term 'natural history," nor with 'biology,'
nor with 'elementary science.' It is not
'popular science.' It is not of the study of
nature merely. Nature may be studied with
either of two objects, to discover new truth
for the purpose of increasing the sum of hu-
man knowledge; or to put the pupil in
a sympathetic attitude toward nature for
the purpose of increasing his joy of living.
The first object, whether pursued in a tech-
nical or elementary way, is a science-teach-
ing movement, and its professed purpose is
to make investigators and specialists. The
second object is a nature-study movement,
and its purpose is to enable every person
to live a richer life, whatever his business
or profession may be."

ADVERTISEMENTS.

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honey, and some for money. The number has increased, and to in-
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My First Season's Experience with the Honey-bee. By

"The Spectator" of the Outlook, New York. A io-page
folder detailing the experiences of this well-knjwn writer. You
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Food Value of Honey. By Dr. C. C. Miller. A 13- page
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your own table. Free.

Bee-Keeping for Sedentary Folk. A 24-page booklet re-
citing the actual experiences of an amateur bee-keeper, show-
ing what equipment is best, profits derived, etc. Free.
Facts About Bees. By F. Danzenbaker. A 64-page illus-
trated booklet. A practical treatise for the amateur. 10 cents.

Habits of the Honey-bee. By Dr. E. F. Phillips. A some-
what scientific handling of the habits and
anatomy of the bee. 10 cents.
Handling Bees. Practical instructions on
this subject, well illustrated. 10 cents.

The A B C of Bee Culture. A complete
encyclopedia on bees of nearly 540 pages,
fully illustrated. $1.50 postpaid. Half
leather, $2.00.

Catalog of Bee-keepers Supplies. Our

complete catalog will be mailed free to any
address on request.

Gleanings in Bee Culture. A 64- page
illustrated semi-monthly magazine, the leading exponent of
bee culture in this country. Ten cents per* issue, but to new
subscribers we will furnish it six months for 25 cents. $1.00
per year.

This sheet may be used as an order sheet by proper checking on
margin, your signature, and remittance if required.

□

THE A. I. ROOT CO.,

MEDINA, O.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

LECTURES BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW

Arcadia: ... - Sound Beach, Connecticut

In promotion of a knowledge and love of nature.
Terms and particulars on application.

Morris Elmer Dailey, President State
Normal School.

SAN JOSE, CAL.

Dr. Edward F. Bigelow delivered a
Lecture on Nature Study before the
students of this Normal School. It was
an exceedingly entertaining and instruc-
tive lecture. Our students enjoyed it
very much.

Athens County Teachers' Institute.

LULU LANE, SECRETARY, NELSONVILLE,
OHIO.

Dr. Bigelow's lectures were an in-
spiration to the teachers of Athens
County. By his able instruction an
interest in Nature Study such as we
have not before known has been awak-
ened. Our teachers were delighted
with his work.

W. A. Beane, County Superintendent
of Schools.

ALBION, INDIANA.

Dr. Edward F. Bigelow delivered ten
lectures at our county teachers' insti-
tute on the subject of Nature Study. He
is full of his subject and is a very forci-
ble speaker. His work is inspirational
and grows in interest as he proceeds in
the series of lectures. His work has
left results. Our pupils are doing some
real nature studv.

Fredericksburg Summer Institute.

FREDERICKSBURG, VA .
ALGERNON B. CHANDLER, JR., M. A. RICH-
MOND, VIRGINIA CONDUCTOR.

I am writing to express to you in a
more personal way than I had time
and opportunity to do while you were
with us my pleasure in your work here.
You were, beyond doubt, the best
drawing card the school had. Your
lectures were broad-gauged and inspir-
ing and they were most enthusiasti-
cally and appreciatively received, not
only by the students of the Fredericks-
burg State Summer Institute but by
the very large number of townspeople
who were fortunate enough to hear
you.

Athens Public School.

B. O. SKINNER, SUPERINTENDENT, ATHENS,
OHIO.

Doctor Edward F. Bigelow was an
instructor at the Athens County
Teacher's Institute of 1909. His
method of presenting Nature Study
was unique and interesting and at the
same time highly valuable. He has
given an impetus to the work in the
county which I believe it has not had
before and in my opinion his influence
will be felt in years to come. It gives
me great pleasure to commend his work
in the highest terms.

S. S. Willard, Superintendent of County
Schools, Perry County.

NEW BLOOMFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA.

Dr. Edward F. Bigelow was one of
the instructors at our Teachers' Insit-
tute. Physically strong and virile, earn-
est, forceful, enthusiastic, and withal
entertaining, Dr. Bigelow-, at once, se-
cured and held the deep interest and
close attention of his audience. Each
period occupied by him was awaited
with pleasure, and I am sure he in-
spired in many of his hearers a new and
permanent desire to investigate more
closely the secrets of Nature, and util-
ize her teachings in the practical work
of the schools.

Woburn Woman's Club.

ALICE BOND WINN, PRESIDENT.

Dr. Bigelow gave his lecture on "The
Child and Nature" before the Woburn
Woman's Club. From the first sen-
tence he held the close attention of his
audience. The address was fresh, vig-
orous, inspiring. Personal contact with
Dr. Bigelow is. in itself a pleasure and
inspiration. He directs thought, in a
delightful way all his own, always, to-
ward the high and good, the great and
true especially as revealed through the
wonders and beauties of nature.

We would recommend Dr. Bigelow
as a lecturer to all clubs who desire a
delightful program quite out of the
ordinary.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

J. H. Riddick, Superintendent of
Schools of Pulaski County.

WINIMAC, INDIANA.

Dr. Edward F. Bigelow's work as
Instructor in our County Teachers' In-
stitute was most heartily received and
brought the teachers in closer touch
with the beauties and usefulness of na-
ture than they had ever been.

Dr. Bigelow has a style peculiarly his
own, that compels attention and awak-
ens sympathy for his subject which is
brimful of interest to all.

hearers a deeper reverence for Na-
ture and her wonders and a determina-
tion on the part of those who heard
them to go to the great book of Nature
rather than to the text-books of scien-
tists for their instructions in this sub-
ject. In my judgment, any conductor
of an institute or school would do well
to secure your services for a course of
lectures.

Quishipaug Woman's Club.

MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

BELLE R. MANCHESTER, CORRESPONDING

SECRETARY.

The lecture recently delivered before
the Quishipaug Woman's Club by Ed-
ward F. Bigelow, of Sound Beach, Con-
necticut, proved to be one of the most
satisfactory in the entire course. Dr.
Bigelow showed a thorough knowledge
of his subject, "The Child and Nature,"
and the large audience gave the closest
attention for an hour and a half. Many
helpful suggestions were given by the
speaker and we feel that much good
may result.

John Harrington Cox.

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY.
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY.

It has been my privilege to do Insti-
tute work in conjunction with Dr. Bige-
low. In my judgment, he is a master of
his subject, Nature Study. He is emi-
nently practical and his presentation is
interesting, forceful and original. He
emphasizes the sacredness of the child's
natural bent and demonstrates conclu-
sively the feasibility of his methods.
Teachers listen intently to what he says
and fill their notebooks with his words.

Miss Low and Miss Heywood's Board-
ing and Day School for Girls.

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

Ur. Edward F. Bigelow gave his
lecture on California before the pupils
of our school. It was one of a course
of several lectures and perhaps the one
most enjoyed. Dr. Bigelow is always
full of enthusiasm for his subject and
is always followed with interest by his
audience. At this lecture there were
.several pupils from California present
who listened with delight to his sympa-
thetic presentation of his subject. The
slides were extremely clear and beauti-
ful and selected with great judgment.

A. S. McPherron, Superintendent San
Bernardino County Schools.

You certainly brought us all "near
to nature's heart." Your lecture was
an inspiration to those who are inter-
ested in nature study, and especially to
those who are endeavoring to introduce
their pupils to nature and to cause
them to fall in love with nature. We
are all glad that we were permitted to
listen "to him who in love of nature
holds communion with her visible
forms," and hope that we. may be so
imbued with your spirit that nature
may also speak to us in as varied a lan-
guage.

Covington State Summer Institute.

COVINGTON, VIRGINIA.

JOSEPH H. SAUNDERS, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA,

CONDUCTOR.

I am writing to express to you my
appreciation for the services rendered
in your lectures on the Pedagogy of
Nature Study before our State Sum-
mer Institute at Covington, Virginia.

These lectures were both entertain-
ing and inspiring and cannot fail to im-
plant into the minds and hearts of the

"Park Life" School, Dubuque, Iowa.

BY. J. HORCHEM, DIRECTOR-IN-CHIEF.

Dr. Edward F. Bigelow can supply
anything in Nature Study that one
can wish. He teaches the natural ob-
jects in their own environments — the
stars in the heavens, the fishes in the
water, the leaves and the flowers and the
fruits on the plants that bear them,
the bees and the ants when they are all
around him, and the animals in their
native haunts.

The boys in Park Life are naturally
active. Work and play and eating and
sleeping coming in their due time, each
bringing enjoyment with it, there is an
element" of Crusoe life in connection

Xll

ADVERTISEMENTS.

with our work. Dr. Bigelow was al-
ways ready to impart valuable instruc-
tion at the time when it was most ap-
preciated and most inviting, whether
in the field, in the woods, around the
camp fire or by his lectures illustra-
ted with this beautiful stereopticon lan-
tern slides.

Department of Public Schools.

BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK.
J. EDWARD BANTA, SUPERINTENDENT.

Mr. Edward F. Bigelow of Sound
Beach, Connecticut, lectured before
the teachers of Binghamton, October
18th. It was the opening lecture in
the pedagogical course for the season
of 'ocj-'io. His subject was "The Child
or You."

From start to finish the audience
was thoroughly interested. The lec-
ture sparkled with wit, wisdom and
good common sense. Mr. Bigelow's
wide acquaintance with schools and
children has given him a wide fund
of illustrations upon which to draw,
and these were used in a masterful way
to fasten the arguments advanced.

All who heard him went away with
a feeling that they had been not only
entertained, but enlightened ; that the
child, the individual child, would re-
ceive closer attention hereafter, in the
view of the teacher and the parent.

Some Interesting Books

Interesting and Instructive.

Among Green Trees. By J. E. Rogers
Bound in cloth, lettered in gold.
Large quarto. Pages 202 + XXII.
25 full page and 202 small half
tone and line illustrations. A
very beautiful, entertaining and
instructive work. Price, $3.00.

Birds of Song and Story. By Elizabeth
and Joseph Grinnell. Bound in
cloth. 150 pp., 16 full page plates
in color. Price, $1.00; postage
10 cts.

Birds of Lakeside and Prairie. By E.
B. Clark. Bound in cloth. 150
pp., 16 full page plates in colors
Price, $1.00; postage, 10 cts.

Wild Birds in City Parks. By H. E.
and A. H. Walter. Bound in cloth.
67 pp., and chart. Price, 50 cts.
postpaid.

Constructive Work... Its Relation to
Literature, History and Nature
Work. By E. F. Worst. Bound
in cloth. 171 pp., 325 illustrations.
A very interesting book. Price,
$1.00; postage, 10 cts.

Set of Twenty-four Plates (12 x9m.)
of Forest Trees. Printed on very
heavy plate paper. A very beauti-
ful and instructive set. Price,
$1.00 postpaid.

Games :

Game of the Birds. 52 cards in colors
in heavy pasteboard box. In-
structive and amusing. Price,
50 cts. postpaid.

Game of Industries. 100 cards. In-
teresting and instructive. Price,
40 cts. postpaid.

Game of Literature. 100 cards. Price,
40 cts. postpaid.

Game of Geography. 100 cards. Price,
40 cts. postpaid.

Minerals and Hozv to Study Them By
Professor E. S. Dana. Second
edition revised. 12 mo., VI +
380 pp., 319 figs., cloth, $1.50.

A Pocket Handbook of Minerals. By
Professor G. M. Butler. 16 mo.,
IX + 298 pp., 89 figs., Morocco,
$3.00.

Crystals and Gold. By Reverend R. T.
Cross. Cloth, $1.00. This book
will be found full of interesting
reading, not only for mineralogists
but all lovers of nature.

Gems and Gem Minerals. By Professor
O. C. Farrington. This book is
attractively bound in cloth, with
lettering in gold. Pages 229 +
XII illustrated with 61 half tone
and line cuts and 16 full page
plates of gems in their natural
colors. Price, $3.00.

For Sale by

Arthur Chamberlain

56 Hamilton Place New York City

Remember the

Panama-California Exposition

in San Diego, California, in 1915

Meanwhile read "THE WEST AMERICAN"
of that growing city.

RECREATION # VOL II JANUARY, 1910 No. 10 fy EDUCATION

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor

ERNEST THOMPSON SETON NUMBER

A VISTA OF ITALIAN GARDEN AND LAKE

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION, - I ARCADIA: SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. .... Single Copy, 10 Cents I1SG

Entered as second-class matter June 12, 1909, at the post office, Sound Beach, Conn., under Act of March 3, 1879

A COPY OF

"PHOTOGRAPHIC AMUSEMENTS'*

FREE

With a NEW SUBSCRIPTION to

The Photographic Times

Regular price of " PHOTOGRAPHIC AMUSEMENTS," - $1.00

One Years subscription to THE PHOTOGRAPHIC TIMES, _L50

Total, - - $2.50

Anyone sending us $1.50 -will receive a copy of " Photographic

Amusements ' FREE, and a year's subscription to

"THE PHOTOGRAPHIC TIMES."

The Photographic Times Publishing Association

135 West Fourteenth Street, New York

Established 1838
THE

Phrenological Journal

and Science of Health

Fowler & Wells Co.

Phrenologists and Publishers
24 East 22d Street, New York

REDUCED IN PRICE
BUT NOT IN VALUE

•J The reduction in price of The Guide to
Nature makes it possible for us to offer a still
more attractive combination price. We now
offer

THE AMERICAN BOTANIST
and THE GUIDE TO NATURE

ONE FULL YEAR FOR $1.40

Botanical Magazines at Less than Half Price

^1 The American Botanist and t he Fern Bulletin are
offering certain back volumes at greatly reduced
rates. If you want the very cream of botanical infor-
mation, this is your oppoitunity. Sample copies of
either journal will be sent upon application. Sub-
scriptions. 75 cents a year. If you can spend 75 cents
better, we don't want your money. Better try one or
both for a year.

W. N. CLUTE & COMPANY

JOLIET, ILLINOIS

*&***!,

-H\>S

>*&

PUBLISHERS NOTICES

Tis not in mortals to COMMAND success, but we'll do
more, Sempronius, we'll DESERVE IT. — Addison: Cato.

When You Go to New York.

Do not forget that the Hotel Cum-
berland, at Broadway and Fifty-fourth
Street, is ideal in location and equip-
ment. Every convenience is provided
for guests. The rates are reasonable.
Try this hotel and see for yourself.

For Household Aquaria.

There is no more beautiful ornament
for the household, and nothing more
interesting in the study of nature, than
a well "balanced" aquarium. Those in
the Arcadia laboratory that are the
most successful were supplied by Jacob
C. Cassel, 915 Arch Street, Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania. Write him for full
particulars. Get the tank with slate
bottom. He has nice ones with brass
frames nickel plated.

The Remarkable Goerz Lenses.

It is but justice to our nature stu-
dents to state that most of the best
"home work" in photography by this
magazine is done with the Goerz lenses.
Occasionally some others are used for
certain conveniences or some special
purpose, but such master work as the
frontispiece of the last number and of
this and most of the other carefully
detailed work have been made with
Goerz Celor lenses.

The Dagor is probably in more ex-
tensive use among photographers, but
for the nature work within the scope
of this magazine, the Celor has been
found most efficient.

The work in photo-macrography has
been done wholly with two small Cel-
ors — a three-inch and five-inch.

You have all heard the mythical
story of the man who in building a
house made two cat holes — one large
and one small. A passerby inquired

why the two holes. The indignant re-
ply was, "How in thunder do you think
that big cat can go through that little
hole? I must have a hole for the big
cat."

"But," was the retort, "Cannot the
little cat go through the big hole?

(This story is told of Sir Isaac New-
ton who cut the two holes in his study
door, one for the old cat, the other for
the kitten.)

"Oh ! I never thought of that."

So it seems to me that those na-
ture students who advocate the Dagor
(smaller aperture) for "all round work"
in science have forgotten that the lesser
lighting of the Dagor can go through
a Celor with its big aperture. But the
speed of the Celor cannot be had from
a Dagor. The lenses stopped down
equally are supposed theoretically to
be of equal depth. But in actual ex-
perience, I get greater depth with the
Celor.

I do not mean to propound a new
theory in optics. Perhaps I am at
fault ; perhaps the merit is in the
Celor. I do not know. I merely state
what I get in my own experience.

Let us have a little talk about lenses.
Show what you get and tell us how
you get it.

Anguish of mind has driven thous-
ands to suicide; anguish of body, none.
This proves that the health of the mind,
is of far more consequence to our hap-
piness than the health of the body, al-
though both are deserving of much
more attention than either receives. —
Colton.

'Tis a fine thing to smart for one's
duty ; even in the pangs of it there is
contentment. — R. L. Stevenson.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

BEE-KEEPING

For Sedentary Folk

Check
Here

My First Season's Experience with the Honey-bee. By

"The Spectator" of the Outlook, New York. A io-page
folder detailing the experiences of this well-known writer. You
will read the leaflet through before you lay it down. Free.
Food Value of Honey. By Dr. C. C. Miller. A 13-page
folder, giving some interesting facts regarding honey as a food
and some tried recipes for its use in cooking and baking. It
will interest you in producing some of this delicious sweet for
your own table. Free.

Habits of the Honey-bee. By Dr. E. F. Phillips. A some-
what scientific handling of the habits and
anatomy of the bee. 10 cents.

Handling Bees. Practical instructions on
this subject, well illustrated. 10 cents.

The A B C of Bee Culture. A complete
encyclopedia on bees of nearly 540 pages,
fully illustrated. $1.50 postpaid. Half
leather, $2.00.

Catalog of Bee-keeper's Supplies. Our

complete catalog will be mailed free to any
address on request.

Gleanings in Bee Culture. A 64-page
illustrated semi-monthly magazine, the leading exponent of
bee culture in this country. Ten cents per issue, but to new
subscribers we will furnish it six months for 25 cents. $1.00
per year.

This sheet may be used as an order sheet by proper checking on
margin, your signature, and remittance if required.

□

THE A. I. ROOT CO.,

MEDINA, O.

ADVERTISEMENT.

Ill

THE LAND AND THE HOME

THE GUIDE TO NATURE circulates extensively in the "homes near to na-
ture" of the Long1 Island coast towns — especially Stamford, Greenwich and
Norwalk — and in the surrounding suburbs and country. The magazine is
thereby an effective advertising medium for business houses in these coast
towns.

This business patronage is especially helpful and appreciated in building
up the Nature Institution. Arcadia is open to the public on visiting hours
two days a week, maintains a summer school composed chiefly of summer
visitors and permanent residents, and at all times freely gives information
on nature topics.

STAMFORD

Harry L. Collom, who has been liv-
ing in a house owned by Mrs. J. H.
Powell, on Adams Ave., the past two
years, has purchased a building lot
from Dr. T. V. Ketcham at Shippan,
and expects to erect a fine dwelling
house there in the spring.

:£ ^ H5 $- :|: % % =i= *

The handsome bungalow being built
on Hubbard Ave., by C. Y. Wilson,
is nearing completion, and will add
much to the collection of handsome
residences which have been built-in this
section of Stamford during the past
five years. This is one of the finest
residential sections of Stamford, and
the property around is being developed
towards that end. Just below the brow
of this part of Hubbards Hill, is Hill-
side Park, in which Clinton R. Fisher,
teller of the Stamford Trust Co., and
Charles A. Miller of the Yale and
Towne Manufacturing Co., have re-
cently erected up-to-date homes, and
are living there with their families.
There is plenty of room for other such
houses, and it is expected that in the
spring quite a building boom will be
started.

The McKensie Property.

Building lots are being rapidly sold
in that tract of land situated on Wash-
ington Ave., and known as "The Mc-
Kensie property."

About sixty years this section of land
was owned by the late Nathaniel E.
Adams, who sold it to Charles O'Hara,
a New York merchant. Mr. O'Hara
built the large white brick house now
standing on a knoll in the center of
the lot.

Later the property was sold to Alex-
ander McKensie of New York. He
beautified the grounds by digging out
and draining a portion of them, and
he also made an artificial lake, erected
a boat and summer house. There are
many in Stamford today who can re-
member as far back as thirty years
ago, the weeping willow which shaded
the south bank of the picturesnue little
lake, and the statuary, as well as the
two stately swans which floated on the
surface of the lake. A waterwheel
turned beneath the boathouse, and a
fountain played from the center.

Mr. and Mrs. McKensie passed away.
The property fell into other hands. The
lake has been filled in. Some half
dozen houses have been erected, where
the swans floated. The old house still
stands there, and is well preserved,
but the present owner is thinking of
moving it to make room for smaller
houses of a more modern style.

Two streets have been cut through
the property, namely, Renwick Street,
and Vernon Place.

For several years Albert D. Down-
ing lived in one of the first built houses
on Vernon Place. Last summer he

ADVERTISEMENTS.

sold his house, and immediately bought
two lots opposite to his former dwell-
ing, and is now erecting a first-class
large house on the two lots. J. W.
Hope will build shortly on his lot.

Henry L. Eckhard has recently pur-
chased two of the best building lots
in this property, and will put up two
modern houses of the most approved
style.

THE HARRIS CONSTRUCTION CO.
GENERAL CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS

REAL ESTATE for home or investment. Country
Farms and Shore Property for sale. Mortgage
Loans negotiated.

Offices : 370 Atlantic St.

Stamford, Conn.

COR FARMS IN STAMFORD

* or Shore Property from Stamford to
New Haven, write to

J. J. LYNCH,

Real Estate Agent.

Property bought sold and exchanged,
Quintard Block, STAMFORD, CONN.

SAMUEL G. JUDD

HOUSE FURNISHINGS

FRENCH CHINA, CUT GLASS,
ROGERS BROS. SILVERWARE, Etc.

Phone 152-3 Atlantic Square Stamford Ct.

Telephones

/ 3-415-3

The C. A. Williams Company

electrical, enginbering and
construction work

Atlantic and Main Sts., Stamford, Conn.

Main Offices Room 3, (juintarh Block

TTARM of fifteen acres with old-fashioned, ten-roomed farmhouse, fire-
place, etc. Barn, workshop, shed and hennery all in^first-class condi-
tion. On high ground and in a very pleasant and picturesque situation. Fur-
nished largely with antique furniture which can be purchased if desired.
Fine well of water, apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, etc.
Also five roomed workman's cottage and blacksmith shop on premises. Near
brook and pond.

For particulars, inquire of

The Editor of The Guide to Nature.

Until lately we have persistently regarded wild things
as mere living targets, and have seen in them nothing but
savage or timorous creatures, killing, or escaping being
killed, quite forgetting that they have their homes, their
mates, their problems and their sorrows — in short, a home-
life that is their real life, and very often much larger and
more important than that of which our hostile standpoint has
given us such fleeting glimpses. — Ernest Thompson Seton.

Just as surely as we find among the wild animals the
germs or beginnings of man's material make-up, so surely
may we find there also the foundations and possibilities of
what he has attained to in the world of mind. This thought
lends new interest to the doings of animals in their home
life, and I have sought among these our less erbrethren for
evidences of it — in the rudiments of speech, sign-language
musical sense, aesthetics, amusements, home-making, social
system, sanitation, wed-law, morals personal and territorial
property law, etc. — Ernest Thompson Seton.

H
D
U

u
w
z
z
o

m
o
u

w
p

O
«

z
o

H
W
en

Z
O
en

o
»

en
W.

There was one boyhood's ambition that did not fade, but grew with my strength; it
was to own a bit of land no matter how small, so long as it had on it a tree that I might
save from all axmen and on which the birds might live in peace.

Here were rocky hills, sloping green banks, noble trees, birds in abundance, squirrels
in the woods, fish and turtles in the pond, a naturalist's paradise in truth and all was mine.
— Ernest Thompson Seton in "Country Life in America.''''

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

EDUCATION AND RECREATION

VOL II

JANUARY, 1910

No. 10

"Wyndygoul,"
Home of Ernest Thompson Seton

BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

ore

ILD Animals I Have Known"
was an epoch making book
not alone because it depart-
ed from the time-honored
custom of depicting the
general habits of animals,
but in that it related the
life history of certain "dis-
tinguished" individual animals, and
furthermore because it was the first
book to make the study of nature
fashionable.

After the publication of that book
in 1898 all else went more easily. Even
the work of the technical biologist
was looked upon with greater favor,
and organizations for the study of na-
ture prospered. Not only seriously,
but as a fad, nature study entered a
new era.

It is true that the critics railed, some
naturalists said it was not true, and
many coveted the success ; but in

spite of all edition after edition ap-
peared and the intimate affairs of na-
ture attracted more attention.

In the life of the author it was even
more than epoch making. Heretofore
he had in limited circles been known
as a naturalist, and to certain pub-
lishers as an illustrator of various forms
of animal life, of more than ordinary
merit. Now he suddenly blazed as a
new star of first magnitude into the
zenith of the Pond agency, and to the
lecture courses throughout the coun-
try. Fabulous honoraria, rivaling
those of Beecher's day, were paid for
engagements.

Writers of natural history looked
to the Seton articles as to high ideals.
Imitators arose from all points of the
compass. . Only among the illustra-
tors did he still stand peerless and
alone, for the simple reason that his
delicate and skillful touches with the

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

A VIEW OF THE ITALIAN GARDEN FROM THE ROAD.

brush were so far beyond the ability
of all others as to forbid imitation.

In the writer's opinion it was not
in art, which is Mr. Seton's best de-
veloped talent, nor even in his ability
as a naturalist, but rather in his skill
as a writer and lecturer, accomplish-

ments discovered somewhat late in
life, for which the public honored and
remunerated him.

Mr. Seton's greatest talents, those
of the artist and the scientific natural-
ist, would never have brought him the
gold and the fame that were brought

MR. SETON EXHIBITING A SKUNK TO A CLASS IN NATURE STUDY.

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

to him by a little side issue whose ex-
istence was unsuspected. lie is like
a skilled miner who in working faith-
fully and efficiently for ordinary metals
discovers a vein of pure gold of whose
existence he had not even dreamed.

But that gold enabled him to
achieve the ambition of his life, that
being, as he tells us in a magazine
article, to live in the wild where he
could experiment and observe as he
wished.

himself, not the public, and all these
may be observed at Wyndygoul.

There he has dreamed and planned
and dug with his enthusiastic wife as
helper or "partner," as he is fond of
calling her, and has made an ideal
home close to nature. In that home
Mr. and Mrs. Seton have a prime es-
sential— a loving, gentle, obedient,
graceful child. Even a casual reading
of his books shows him to be a lover
of children, and we can but congratu-

MR. SETON AND HIS DAUGHTER, ANN, ON A LEDGE NEAR THE HOUSE.

His readers and his audiences know
only the smaller "side issues" of
Ernest Thompson Seton. To know
him as he really is, one must see him
surrounded by his beloved nature,
must see him at his studies and influ-
enced by his special enthusiasms ; must
know of the things he does to please

late him (and the "partner") upon
having" such a lovely specimen in his
own home.

The location of that home in its
nearness of nature is ideal. Upon this
basis has been artistically expended
much hard work. When the property
was purchased it consisted chiefly of

3i6

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

HE DARED TO MAKE A STRAIGHT ROAD.
It is artistic and pleasing, even if there are no curves.

AT THE EDGE OF THE LAKE.

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

3i7

A VIEW OF THE DUCK POND.

a swamp, a meadow, a brook, a ledge
and some bits of forest. The brook
and the swamp have been changed into
a beautiful lake, the banks into a
graceful Italian garden ; the ledge has
become a picturesque site for the house,
and the meadow is beautiful in its
primitive, unaltered condition. The
famous naturalist knows how to im-
prove and how to let alone.

He is not bound down by time-hon-
ored customs. In good taste and for
convenience the road to the house plot
has been made straight. He has
demonstrated that a straight path can
be beautiful, and that it is not neces-

sary to go a mile to gain a half. The
makers and keepers of country roads
may well go and study his lessons. He
teaches too what it would seem that
every one should know, yet few seem-
ingly do know that bushes, just or-
dinary bushes (not those trimmed and
cut and carved), may be beautiful.

Yet he has formalism, the most for-
mal of formalism, but placed where it
is needed and where it becomes beau-
tiful by contrast.

The Indian Camp is well located by
the lake, and is the central college
from which have come thousands of
accessory camps in all parts of America

THE ITALIAN GARDEN AS VIEWED FROM THE NORTH.

3i8

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

THE NATURE CLASS AND "WILD" (CANADA)
GEESE.

as well as the Boy Scout movement
in England. Here the boys gather in
summer and have games of hunting,
and here they dance, swim, whoop and
follow the trail to their heart's con-
tent. With the external organization
of an Indian tribe and all the charms
of outdoor sport and picturesque cere-
monial and dress, the boys are led along
a pleasant path that, as only the wise
and experienced realize, ends in good
citizenship.

At the upper part of the lake is
the stump of an old tree that for great
size astonishes an eastern man and
would do credit to the land of the
Sequoia. Though made of slabs on a
framework, it is so good an imitation
as to please even the owls and squir-
rels, as well as the eye of man, so

picturesquely does it fit into the land-
scape at this upper end of the lake.
Rowing to the island on which it
stands, one feels as if journeying to
the wilds of Canada, though it is but
a few minutes since the boat left the
land of civilization and of Italian gar-
dens. A little farther northward in the
wilderness is Ann Island, so named
from the little daughter who, in a little
rustic cabin all her own, may here
fancy she is a Robinson Crusoe.

To the northward and eastward and

westward the scenery is as wild as in

'the days when the Siwanoys and Mo-

THE HOLLOW "TREE."

This was made of a frame covered with slabs.

HOMES NEAR TO NATURE.

319

hegans held it for their exclusive hunt-
ing ground. Mr. Seton is fond of
standing on Indian Rock and telling
the story of the old chief, Ab Cos Cob,
the last of his race, who lived and died
there in his wigwam some seventy-five
years ago.

In the autumn, while standing near
this rock with my camera, I exclaimed,
"Hear that flock of wild geese going
south."

"Yes," replied Mr. Seton, "those are
mine, born on this lake. They fly

STANDING ON INDIAN ROCK.
Telling the story of the old chief.

MR. AND MRS. SETON ON THE DOORSTEPS.

much and far in the spring and fall,
often going to the Sound, but the two
oldest birds are pinioned. They can-
not fly and always call the family back
again. The wild ducks are free and
fly at will but never leave the Park."
And neither would I, if I had such
a home in such delightful proximity
to nature. Wyndygoul is good enough
for geese or for any other bipedal form
of animal life with one particle of the
"wild" in its nature. Twenty species the skin
of wild animals and some seventv-five

OF LOBO, THE WHITE WOLF, IN
THE STUDY.

320

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

species of birds live in wild security
in and about the acres of Wyndygoul
for it is a sanctuary as well as a
chosen resort. Even snakes are not
molested, only the snapping turtle is
viewed as an enemy and sentenced to
banishment as a disturber of the
peace.

People no longer desire to see and
hear him out of mere curiosity, as the
author of a book that was in the list
of "best sellers," but because they have
a real interest in nature; and he has
won the respect of even those natural-
ists who denounced his books as "ani-
mal fiction." The recent publication

WHERE HE WRITES HIS BOOKS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES.

Though Air. Seton's popularity no of "Life Histories of Northern Ani-

longer flames so high nor so wide as mals" has emphasized and made se-

in the three or four years when he could cure his fame as a real, hard working

with difficulty find dates for lecture ap- naturalist.

pointments, in all parts of the country, In popular esteem he has earned the

his work nowadays is in saner demand, right to enjoy "Wyndygoul" — the most

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

321

elaborately and luxuriously equipped
home of a naturalist that the world has
ever known.

Long may he and his family enjoy it,
and from there call the attention of
the people to real animals, to a genu-
ine love of nature, and through these

to the ultimate purposes so well ex-
pressed by Professor Hodge :

"Nature study is learning those things
in nature that are best worth knowing,
to the end of doing those things that
make life most worth living."

The Greatest True Fish Story.

BY S. F. HARRIMAN.
Note: — The term "fish" is used figuratively, be-
cause the blackfish is not strictly a fish, but a
species of whale. While there is no record of
larger stranding of blackfish, there have been made
larger and more valuable catches of fish.- — E. F. B.

November 17, 1884, on the shores of
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, occurred
the greatest catch of fish known in
the annals of American fisheries. Cape
Cod fishermen, celebrated for their
vigor, skill and alertness, discovered a
large school of blackfish off the inner
shore of Cape Cod, where they had
been attracted by the great abundance
of squid and herring, on which they
feed. With dorys and fishing vessels
the fishermen drove the huge monsters
of the deep, as the farmer drives a
flock of sheep, for two or three days
and nights, until they succeeded in forc-
ing them up Blackfish Creek Bay, in
South Wallfleet, Massachusetts. The
fish would go on until they stuck fast
and were stranded on the shore. They
were then lanced by the skilled fisher-
men and died on the beach. It hap-
pened that the shore was reached at
high tide, jusl as it began to ebb ; hence
the whole school of fifteen hundred
blackfish were soon on the dry sand.

The slaughter was very exciting,
some three hundred fishermen partici-
pating. A three-pound fish has been
known to make a "scene" when being
landed ; imagine, if you can, the death-
throes of fifteen hundred fish weighing
from five hundred pounds to three tons
each. Many of the fish when dying

would utter a plaintive moan, not un-
like that of a human infant, and which
proved rather trying to the nerves
even of the hardy Cape Cod fishermen.
The accompanying illustration shows
them at low tide.

I saw them both at high and low
tides. At high tide nearly all were
under water, lashed together, and at
low tide they looked like a black log
yard — an extraordinary sight and one
never to be forgotten.

By the unwritten law of the fisher-
men all were sold at auction on the
beach and were purchased by Prov-
incetown, Truro, Wellfleet and East-
ham parties at an average price of
ten dollars each, or $15,000 for the
1,500 fish. It was estimated that when
the blubber was rendered into oil and
the bodies into fertilizer the entire
value would be about $25,000 at whole-
sale prices. The yield of oil from each
fish varied from ten gallons to ten
barrels. The jaw yields a fine quality
of oil, highly prized for oiling clocks,
watches and other delicate machinery.
There were about 400 shares, a boy
drawing a half share, a man a full
share, a dory two shares and a fishing
vessel six shares — this, too, being un-
written law among the fishermen.

The blackfish, sacred to Apollo, the
mythologists and poets will remember,
is known by various common names —
deductor, social, bottle-head or howl-
ing whale — and to the ichthyologists by
the scientific name, Globicephalus
melas.

322

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

The "blackfish" is, strictly speaking',
not a fish at all, but a jet-black carni-
vorous, viviparous, warm-blooded
mammal of the Cetacean order, a mem-
ber of the Dolphin family, from eight
to eighteen feet long, weighing from
five hundred pounds to three tons, and

shaped very much like a small sperm
whale, the head having the same square-
ended, sawn-off appearance. For the
protection of their flesh and vital or-
gans from the cold of Arctic waters,
these fish are completely enveloped in
a thick laver of blubber from two to

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THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

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six inches thick, which lies under the
skin and is impervious to cold. The
skin is shining' black and as smooth
as plate glass.

As many as 1,500 blackfish have
probably been captured during an en-
tire season, but it was never recorded,
except in the case here cited, that at any
one time were so many caught. So it

may be truthfully said that in three
particulars — number, size and value of

fish caught-

-this is the greatest Ameri-

can fish catch.

Since seeing that great catch of fish,
I have never been interested in watch-
ing a cork bob on a small stream or
lake. — The Boy.

A Nursery as a Nature Institution.

BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, ARCADIA : SOUND
BEACH, CONN.

More than to "check" a list of "one
hundred and twenty-seven birds" or
ninety-two trees" is to know even one
bird or one tree. More than to know
the habits in general of one class of
animals is to know one individual ani-
mal with all its personalities and idio-
syncracies.

We need some one to write a "Silver-
spot" or "Lobo" story of an oak or a
maple, a "Redraft" or a "Bingo" story
of a spruce or white pine. It is illogi-
cal and not conducive of the best bene-
fits to note the germination of peas
and beans in the springtime, the bloom-
ing of lilies in the summer, and to
examine the nuts of the hickory in the
autumn. . If we would really know that
bird, that flower or nut, let us know

THE ENTRANCE TO A TREE-LOVING INSTITUTION.

324

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

it from the beginning and to the end.
Let us not limit attention to seeds,
bloom or fruiting, but take into con-
sideration the full life histories. I
thoroughly agree with Professor L. H.
Bailey in his statement :

"I dislike to hear people say that
they love flowers. They should love
plants ; then they have a deeper hold.
Intellectual interest should go deeper
than shape or color."

Nowadays we hear much of For-
estry and the doctrine of tree Con-
servation.

down ; but when he says, "I played
under that tree when a child ; it has
seen generations of this family come
and go," there is not the slightest dan-
ger of the removal of the tree, though
it even be an inconvenience and shades
the ground where crops should grow.
So I firmly believe that neither the
boast of the naturalist, "I've learned
the names of so many trees this year,"
nor the forester's alarm of "lumber
famine" are sufficient to ensure the
safety of our forest. After all love is
the mightiest power in this world, and

J ' J «

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A WALK TO THE NURSERY OF INFANT TREES AND SHRUBS.

The cry, conservation, is good ; but
consecration would be better. If you
argue dollars and cents for the pub-
He in saving the forest because to des-
troy it is detrimental to future public
interests, you are putting into the hands
of the owner the sharpest axe for him
to wield — individual dollars and cents
for the present.

When a farmer looks upon a tree in
a field and balances in his mind the
worth of that tree for cow shade and
its value for lumber, he may cut it

love is the outcome of knowledge and
intimate acquaintance. The way to
have that intimate, extended acquaint-
ance is to grow trees or to see them
grown. The place where trees are
grown is a tree nurserv.

So, to my mind, the greatest factor
in the future knowledge and preserva-
tion of trees is a nursery.

I have not had the acquaintance of
any other tree and shrub nursery, so
attractive and so well equipped, so in-
spiring, as that of The Elm City Nurs-

THE OUTDOOR WORLD.

325

IN THE AISLES OF SHADOW-LAND.

ery Company at New Haven, Connecti-
cut. I am not saying this as an ad-
vertisement, because it is not at the
request, suggestion, or even know-
ledge of the owners. To visit this
nursery is to have intimate, cordial ac-
quaintance with trees in all stages of
development. Nearly all the varieties
are grown from the seed. One may
there see perfect trees — maple, white
pine, arbor vitae and many others not
so large as your little finger. Think of
the joy of holding in the hollow of your
hand an entire arbor vitae. Heaven
lingers around and above even a tree
in its infancy.

I shall leave for others to tell of
the careful business management and
the ideal location that have been the
upbuilding of this nursery. The lo-
cation is self-evident, and the business
details are supposedly attended to. But
there would probably be at least a fair
degree of success with only the love
and enthusiasm for trees of the man-
ager, Mr. Coe. He is a nature student
and lover of nature. He believes that
a living and growing plant, shrub or
tree is a miracle, and that it is a joy
and privilege to care for it.

Would vou be a tree lover, do as

he docs. Never mind your check list;
that will take care of itself. Get some
tree seed, make a frame, put on the
slats, get the seeds to growing, and
then watch with tender and loving care.
All else will follow.

J am not concerned here with The
Kim City Nursery Company as a busi-
ness house. This is a matter for our
advertising pages, and any magazine
eulogy along that point of view would
be given under the head of "Publish-
er's Notices."

But right here, in the body of this
magazine, where we are to talk of
guidance to nature, I want to say and
to say with no uncertain words that
this establishment is more than a busi-
ness house ; dollars and cents fade
away into insignificance; it is a Nature
Institution of the best kind. The man-
ager is more than a good executive of
business affairs; he really lives in this
world and puts himself in tune with
infinitude of plants under care. Down
deep in his heart I am sure there is
a sympathetic response to the words
of Henry David Thoreau :

"Every creature is better alive than
dead, men and moose and pine-trees,
and he who understands it aright will

ALL ROWS LEAD TO THE WORKERS.

326

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

rather preserve its life than destroy it.
"Is it the lumberman, then, who is
the friend and lover of the pine, stands
nearest to it and understands its nature
best? Is it the tanner who has barked
it, or he who has boxed it for turpen-
tine, whom posterity will fable to have
been changed into a pine at last? No!
no ! it is the poet ; he it is who makes
the truest use of the pine, — who does
not fondle it with an axe, nor tickle it
with a saw, nor stroke it with a plane,
— -who knows whether its heart is false
without cutting" into it, — who has not
bought the stumpage of the township

over all the rest of the forest, I realized
that the former were not the highest
use of the pine. It is not their bones
or hide or tallow that I love most. It
is the living spirit of the tree, not its
spirit of turpentine, with which I sym-
pathize, and which heals my cuts. It
is as immortal as I am, and perchance
will go to as high a heaven, there to
tower above me still."

Thoroughness.
A great deal of the joy of life con-
sists in doing perfectly, or at least to
the best of one's ability, everything

AN EVERGREEN MEMORY.
Here Thoreau would have exulted in the beginnings of the lives of "the immortals."

on which it stands. All the pines shud-
der and heave a sigh when that man
steps on the forest floor. No, it is the
poet, who loves them as his own
shadow in the air, and lets them stand.
I have been into the lumber-yard, and
the carpenter's shop, and the tannery,
and the lamp-black factory, and the
turpentine clearing; but when at length
I saw the tops of the pines waving and
reflecting the light at a distance high

which he attempts to do. There is a
sense of satisfaction, a pride in survey-
ing such a work — a work which is
rounded, full, exact, complete in all its
parts — which the superficial man, who
leaves his work in a slovenly, slipshod,
half-finished condition, can never
know. It is this conscientious com-
pleteness which turns work into art.
The smallest thing, well done, becomes
artistic. — William Mathews.

POPULAR ASTRONOMY.

327

R5PUftR.ft5rReN6MY

The Heavens in February

BY PROF S. ALFRED MITCHFXL, OF COLUM-
BIA UNIVERSITY.

The year 1910 has centered in it Hal-
ley's comet, and beyond a few com-
paratively uninteresting- eclipses of sun
and moon, nothing- else looms up in
the astronomical horizon. The ques-
tion of where the comet is needs no
further comment, but what it is brings
us to another story. The most impor-
tant observations to be made will not
be those which give us the position of
the comet in the sky by visual meas-
urements, nor yet, those obtained by
the sensitive plate and pnotographic
camera. Such observations will be of
enormous value, but those of greatest
service to the scientist will be some
which will not appeal very much to
the public mind, as they will be little
understood. The spectroscope is to be
the important instrument of investiga-
tion, for Halley's comet promises to
be the very first bright comet that has
visited the earth since the modern spec-
troscope has been devised. By its
means we will probably be able to
decipher the enigma of the comet's tail,
the puzzle to astronomers of all ages,
why it always points away from the
sun. How science changes its point
of view and adopts new hypotheses
as occasion demands is splendidly il-
lustrated by the story of these comets
and their tails. Since the first explana-
tions given three hundred years ago,
even before the foundation of the law
of gravitation, there have been plenty
of theories propounded, and earlier
ideas have been gradually discarded on
becoming untenable through improved
knowledge of the laws of matter.

The life history of a comet, indeed,
seemed to contain a riddle which no
astronomer could fully read, and as
such, it was regarded as one of the
"problems of astronomy." Newton's

law of universal gravitation itself ap-
peared to be set at naught by comets,
for instead of pointing toward the sun,
as being attracted in this direction by
gravity, their tails pointed in diametri-
cally the opposite direction, just as if
under the action of a solar repulsion.
Could this be a case which showed
that gravity was not universal? Or,
if gravity did act, what was the na-
ture of the force centered in the sun,
which actually repelled matter so as
to form the tail? Various theories
of comets' tails have resulted from at-
tempting to find the nature of this
force.

After investigating planetary mo-
tions and giving to the world the
three great laws of motion bearing
his name, Kepler turned his atten-
tion to comets. After carefully ob-
serving in 1607 the comet, which
proved eventually to be Halley's, he
announced that to the best of his
knowledge the head of a comet be-
comes vaporized by the heat of the
sun, and that particles are driven
therefrom to form the tail by a force
of repulsion that was explained easily
enough by the then accepted theory
of light. According to this theory the
sun is continually emitting particles
of matter which travel through
space at enormous velocities. On
reaching the comet a portion of the
energy of these corpuscles becomes
imparted to the cometary material,
and there results a tail pointed away
from the sun.

Newton, the great founder of the
law of gravitation in 1687, did not
entirely accept this explanation. While
believing implicilty in the emission
theory of light, he tried to prove that
gravity was universal, and consequent-
ly that all celestial motions must be
the result of gravitation, and, there-
fore, he thought, the repulsions pro-

328

THE GUIDE TO NATURE

ducing- comets' tails could be apparent
only and not real.

The Planets.

Mercury is at its greatest elonga-
tion west on the nineteenth of the
month, and is a morning star, but
its great southern declination of 190
will prevent it from being well seen.

The evening star, Venus, which has
been such a magnificent object in the
southwest in the early evening has

watching for a few nights only. This
motion is almost as rapid as the sun's
eastward motion among the stars and
as a consequence Mars and the sun ap-
parently approach each other in the sky
very, very slowly. In fact, Mars is
an evening star for months yet to come,
to September 22. How different is this
motion to that of Venus, an inferior
planet.

Jupiter is becoming more and more
conspicuous and rising earlier and

Feb. Moon Phases
LastQtr..Feb.2.
NewMoon.Feb.9 .
FIRST Q'TR, FEB .1 6.

FULLMoon,Feb.2*

Evening SkyMap for February

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THESTARSANDPLANETS
JUST /\S THEY APPEAR
IN THE HEAVENS

SOUTH

rapidly approached the sun and will
be at inferior conjunction on February
11. Thereafter it will appear as a
morning star quickly getting out from
the sun's rays and becoming as bril-
liant in the morning sky as it has been
during the past few months.

At the beginning of the month Mars
is on the meridian at sunset and sets
shortly after ten o'clock. The motion
of the ruddy planet to the east among
the stars can be readily noted by ob-
serving the stars near the planet and

earlier each night. At the first of the
month it rises at about ten o'clock, and
at the end of February comes up two
hours earlier. It will be a fine object
throughout the spring and summer.

Saturn is not moving east nearly so
quickly as Mars, and the distance be-
tween them is rapidly increasing. Those
who watch the skies know well where
to find Mars and Saturn. Uranus is
too near the sun to be seen and Nep-
tune is on the meridian at 9:33 P. M.
on the fifteenth of the month.

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR.

329

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Address all correspondence to Arthur Chamberlain, Editor, 56 Hamilton Place, New York City

Some Beautiful and Interesting Min-
erals.

Part I.

The editor of The Guide; to Nature
recently spent a very enjoyable half
day in the department of minerals at
The American Museum of Natural His-
tory, New York City. Time can be
spent to excellent advantage in this
department — not only to the lover of
nature but of the beautiful.

A few photographic souvenirs were
brought away to be shared, in two arti-

I. Chalcopyrite and Quartz, Redruth,
Cornwall, Eng.

The specimen here shown is a very
handsome one ; it measures about four
by seven inches, and shows tetrahe-
drons of chalcopyrite prettily arranged
with white quartz crystals. The larg-
est of the chalcopyrites is one inch in
diameter and has a raised rim of
crystal growth around two sides. Most
of the crystals are somewhat tarnished,
but this gives them added beauty, as
they exhibit a pleasing combination

1. CHALCOPYRITE FROM REDRUTH, CORNWALL, ENGLAND.

cles, with the readers of this maga-
zine. The descriptions were written
by Mr. Alfred C. Hawkins, a most en-
thusiastic student and admirer of min-
erals, who is connected with the de-
partment which has been brought to
a high degree of excellence by the cura-
tor, Mr. L. P. Gratacap. To him this
magazine is gratefully indebted for
various courtesies.

of purplish reds, greens, blues, and,
in portions that are not tarnished,
fresh yellow surfaces. Where frag-
ments have been broken from the
crystals there are flashes of the typi-
cal bright brass-yellow of chalcopy-
rite.

The matrix is a slaty or cherty sili-
ceous rock. The quartz crystals, which
are numerous, are long, prismatic,

330

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

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II. PYRITE FROM CENTRAL CITY, COLORADO.

slightly tapering" and terminated by
pyramids which show an abnormal de-
velopment of three alternate faces, al-
most eliminating the other three. The
chalcopyrite crystals are deeply im-
planted among the spires of quartz ;
and though the former fit tightly
around the latter, and even partly en-
close them, in no case are quartz crys-
tals found implanted in the chalcopy-
rite, in this specimen. This proves to
us that the quartz is of the first gen-
eration, and the chalcopyrite of the
second, that is, that the quartz formed
before the chalcopyrite.

III. PYRITE FROM FRANKLIN, NEW JERSEY.

Chalcopyrite crystals very similar to
these have been found elsewhere. Many
of the English specimens are very fine,
the crystals being, in many cases, large
and untarnished. Some years ago,
mines at Ellenville, N. Y., produced
some very fine large chalcopyrite crys-
tals, which were associated with
quartz crystals, as in the English
specimens. Many of the Ellenville
chalcopyrites, though often associated
with quartz crystals of considerable
size and beauty, were so badly tar-
nished as to be almost black, which
detracted much from their beauty.

The tiny tetrahedrons of chalcopy-
rite, on dolomite, which come from the
vicinity of Joplin, Missouri, are well
known to all who are familiar with
minerals. A number of very fine ones
of larger size have been found at the
French Creek Mines, in Chester Co.,
Pa., now long since closed. Chalcopy-
rite is found in a great many places,
and in its usual massive form is an im-
portant ore of copper. It is the prin-
cipal ore of copper at the Cornwall mines.
II. Pyrite, Central City, Colorado.

In the handsome group of cubes here
shown we have a typical example of
pyrite as found in the state of Col-
orado. It is a group of cubes, very
simple in form and perfect in develop-
ment, with faces typically striated. The
cubes are promiscuously scattered over
a matrix composed of the same min-

THE MINERAL COLLECTOR.

33i

eral. They have a bright brassy-yel-
low color, and a very brilliant lustre,
which makes them exceedingly attrac-
tive.

Pyrite is a very widely distributed min-
eral. Few ores, of whatever kind they
may be, are entirely free from it. It
is often present in sufficient qviantity
to serve as the basis of extensive min-
ing operations. Though on iron com-
pound, it is not suited to use as an
iron ore, for the sulphur in it amounts
to 53.4 per cent., while the iron con-
stitutes only 46.6 per cent. Notwith-

mines at Franklin Furnace, N. J., in
the northwestern corner of that state. It
has the usual bright brass-yellow color
and brilliant lustre. Its faces are deeply
striated in places, showing a tendency
to form cube faces ; other forms are
also present on the crystal.

The white limestone which contains
the pyrite was probably at one time
a simple sedimentary rock, a consoli-
dated lime-mud. Together with other
elements, this new rock contained iron.
When the great Appalachian mountain
system was in process of formation,

IV. HALITE FROM BORAX LAKE, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

standing this, its sulphur content is
valuable. It is of increasing impor-
tance as a source of sulphuric acid
fumes for the manufacture of vitrol.

Pyrite is classed in the isometric
system, in regard to its method of
crystal formation, its principal forms
being the cube and the octahedron.
The cube is well shown in the Colo-
rado specimen, and the octahedron in
the one from Franklin, N. J., else-
where described. Wonderfully perfect
octahedrons were also obtained from
the old French Creek mines in Penn-
sylvania.

III. Pyrite, Franklin, N. J.

The large octahedron of pyrite here
shown came from the famous zinc

this limestone was crushed and meta-
morphosed in the mountain building;
the limestone, pure calcium carbonate,
crystallized, and the impurities in it
separated from it, forming new com-
pounds, which crystallized in their
turn. Thus the pyrite crystals were
formed, as the familiar garnets were
formed in the metamorphic schists of
many regions.

The pyrite is not a common thing in
the limestone at Franklin, and lately it
has been becoming scarcer and scarcer.
This crystal is an exceptionally large
one. The crystals from Franklin sel-
dom show simple forms ; there are
many complicated and interesting ones
that have been found from time to
time.

332

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

IV. Halite, Borax Lake, San Ber-
nardino Co., Cal.

Although quite familiar with com-
mon salt in its every-day aspect, we
are probably not so well acquainted
with it in the form here shown. Its
chemical composition is sodium chlor-
ide ; it is luckily a mineral frequently
found in nature, and is naturally of
great economic importance. It is wide-
ly distributed over the world, Germany,
(Prussia), Spain, Switzerland and some
places in the United States as New York
and Kansas, are the leading localities.
The salt is found in arid regions or in
regions that once were arid, often oc-
cupying the bottoms of ancient lakes
that have gradually dried up and dis-
appeared, just as the Great Salt Lake
is doing at the present time. In these
old lake bottoms many other salts
were deposited with the sodium chlor-
ide, and from them have formed many
beautiful specimens of such minerals
as colemanite, borax and thenardite. San
Bernardino Co., Cal., is one of the prin-
cipal localities from which such speci-
mens are obtained.

This is an exceptional specimen,
showing, as it does, free cubes that
are many of them more than an inch in
diameter. This mineral, like pyrite, is
isometric, and its common form is the
cube. Many of the cubes here shown
are composite — built up of several
smaller ones, in parallel position. Some
have little cubes in parallel position, on
their corners.

Halite is not commonly found in free
crystals. In the great mines of Prus-
sia it is often found in transparent,
cleavable masses, but seldom are the
crystals free. At Rochester, N. Y., the
salt is in a layer of rock that is a great
distance underground. It is obtained
by drilling wells, pumping up water
that is charged with the salt, and
evaporating it in tanks. Natural salt
springs occur in many parts of the
world.

CORRESPONDENCE

Insect Color Preferences.

New York City.
To the Editor:

In the December number of The
Guide to Nature, is a letter calling
attention to the apparent preference
exhibited by grasshoppers for light
dresses, and particularly for a pink one
of cotton material. It seems that this
preference is shown by other insects
as well, for Lounsbury in "The Stan-
dard of Usage in English," pp. 230-
231, makes the following statement in
regard to Fanny Kemble's "Records
of Later Life," published in 1882. "In
it she denounced with vigor the black
beetles which overran the rooms in her
residence in Philadelphia. They were
especially attracted she tells us, 'to
unfortunate females by white or light-
colored muslin gowns.' "

While the above is used by Louns-
bury in an entirely different connec-
tion, it seems advisable to make a note
of it in connection with your corre-
spondent's letter.

Sincerely yours,
Edwin W. Humphreys.

Autumn.

"In the early autumn, Nature will
love you better than at any other sea-
son, and will take you to her bosom
with more motherly tenderness. How
early in the summer, too, the prophecy
of autumn comes ! Earlier in some
years than in others ; sometimes even in
the first weeks of July. There is no
other feeling like what is caused by
this faint, doubtful yet real perception
— if it be not rather a foreboding — of
the year's decay so blessedly sweet and
sad in the same breath."

"Agnes sat playing bridge all the
afternoon with her back to a glorious
mountain view."

"Yes. She is president of our Back
to Nature Club." — Life.

Soon, very soon, our brief lives will
be lived, and our affairs will have
passed away. Uncounted generations
will tread heedlessly upon our tombs.
What is the use of living, if it be not
to strive for noble causes, and to make
this muddled world a better place for
those who will live in it after we have
gone? — Winston S. Churchill.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

333

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• ♦•«••♦*

THE '^^C

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

Personal Explanatory Note: — Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing Chap-
ters are represented by this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years
of age) are referred to my department ("Nature and Science") in the "St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen-
tury Company, New York City. — Edward F. Bigelow.

An Agassiz Association Course in Ele-
mentary Botany.

Alex. E. Wright, of Wellesley Hills,
Massachusetts, will continue his labora-
tory course in botany. His usual fee
is ten dollars, but a reduction is made
to Chapters and Members of The Agas-
siz Association. Write to him for par-
ticulars.

"Common Sense Knowledge."

The president of one of the largest
and most successful banks in Stam-
ford— a man who is generally recog-
nized in that city as one of the best
and most successful of financiers —
recently visited Arcadia, and made a
careful investigation of the outfit, the
work and the financial needs of The
xA.gassiz Association. He spoke with
encouraging commendation and ren-
dered pecuniary aid.

As he was taken through the vari-
ous departments of nature investiga-
tion and was shown the salient things
of interest, he frequently said :

"This is common sense knowledge ;
the schools should teach this instead
of much of the 'stuff' they now pack
into the heads of the pupils."

The substance of this statement was
reoeated, in different words, at vari-
ous times. He emphasized the fact
that the study of nature is common
sense and that much of the teachings
of the schools is not.

I quote the bank president espe-
cially not only because of his promi-
nence and business sagacity but be-
cause he is most unprejudiced and im-
partial in this oft repeated statement.
Many school teachers, especially
science teachers, and many parents
have expressed the same idea. I have

not quoted the science teacher lest
the reply be, "It is his business to
teach that and of course he advocates
it ;" nor have I quoted the ordinary
parent with children now in school
lest some one say, "Oh, he has been
inoculated by the modern nature-study
fad."

But our bank president has no chil-
dren in school, he is not swayed by
fads or hobbies, he is simply a capable
long experienced, skillful, efficient busi-
ness man who knows how to take
care of his own money and that of
others to the best possible advantage.

His verdict is, "Success in business
needs common sense knowledge, and
a knowledge of nature is common
sense."

Suppose you had come from Mars,
eager to learn something of your new
environment. Would you not be sur-
prised if you should enter a school-
room and find so much thought and
labor devoted to the distant in time
and place, so much investigation of
theories remote from the actual experi-
ence of the pupils, and so little to the
thoughts and objects of the present?

Yes, it is "common sense knowledge"
to know the stars, the trees, the plants,
the life forms — all the things near at
hand. It's a University of Common
Sense Knowledge that we are trying
to build up. Do you believe in com-
mon sense knowledge for all people?
Then do as did the bank president —
speak a good word for it and empha-
size your words by substantial aid.
Come with us. We are going the
right way.

Now is the time for your membership.
Begin 1910 aright. You will not live
this year again.

334

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

The Boy That Is Worth While.

BY E. M. HUNTSINGER, PRESIDENT HUNT-

singer's BUSINESS SCHOOL ,INC,

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

(Editorial Note: Mr. Huntsinger has prob-
ably prepared more boys for business and

E. M. HUNTSINGER.

An expert in business, and a genuine naturalist.

had more dealings with business houses in
the employment of boys than has any other
man in the State of Connecticut. He tells
us that a boy full of enthusiasm for nature
is* really "worth while." An interest in na-
ture is practical, and the enthusiasm and
energy that produce it are the fundamental
elements of success in business. — E. F. B.)

Usually the nature lover is born, but
he is also frequently made by cultiva-
tion. First and foremost he has the
keen appreciation of seeing the beauti-
ful where it is least expected. He sees
beauty in the way-side flower, in the
tumbling brook, in the battered and
wind-beaten pine; and the shapely
beach tree which is built more nearly
on the human form than any other tree
in the forest, always charms him. He
hears music in the seashells, a glimpse
of a distant view charms him, and the
note sung by some "brother in the air"
stirs his soul. Everywhere and at all
times his heart is in harmony with the

voice of nature. The nature lover never
wilfully destroys anything that the
great Creator has provided for those
who know how to appreciate them.

The nature lover feasts his eyes up-
on the reflections in the water, and re-
vels in the fine atmosphere of the In-

'..'X-,-V;

ONE OF MR. HUNTSINGER'S STUDIES OF
BIRCHES.

THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION.

335

dian summer. He also rejoices in the
power of the raging storm which lashes
the mountain pine. He believes in his
achievement as much as does the artist
in portraying with pencil or brush —
a flower, a bird, a tree, a bit of scenery,
or even the leaf of an oak. He sees
the greatness of his Creator. In short,
he bows before the newly fallen snow
which has hushed the earth with its
pure mantle. He sees the elemental
forces in the ice storm with its mil-
lions of diamonds sparkling in the ris-
ing sun. His eyes and his ears are
feasting upon what the grand Archi-

This sort of boy will sit for hours
waiting for a bird and watch with
eagle eye every motion to study its
peculiarities. This boy does not de-
stroy birds' nests or steal eggs. He
learns all he can about the flowers of
the air as well as the flowers of soil
that others may enjoy its pleasures
with him. For hours he will sit by
the babbling brook and watch the sun-
fish pile up pebbles in which to hatch
the brood. He is the boy who has
sufficient patience to watch the snail
in its slow habits — he has learned
patience.

MR. HUNTSINGER WOULD LEAD ALL HUMANITY TO SUCH BEAUTIFUL REALMS OF

NATURE.

tect of the Universe has provided for
us in color, form, and sound.

Happy is the boy or the girl whose in
nate being calls for nature, who is
strong of body and able to walk and
to endure. Such a boy will make sac-
rifices to study nature untrammeled.
He is willing to sleep upon a bare floor
so that sleeping lightly he may rise be-
times to walk four or five miles at
break of day to see a particular bird
rise from her nest, to study its archi-
tecture or see its offspring while the
mother is absent seeking her breakfast.

The nature lover is an artist and
sees with a clearness of vision that
startles the average boy. A walk in
the country furnishes him numerous
opportunities for profitable reflections.
He remembers with keen delight cer-
tain trees he calls his friends, certain
brooks which sing to him, certain flow-
ers which bid him good morning. He
knows most of the beautiful nooks in
the woods and the artistic turns in
the road. He finds his way in the
woods by instinct. Happy the boy
who becomes his friend that he may

336

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

learn at first-hand some of the great
secrets of nature. The ledges speak
to him and the hillside brings its quota
of things that have transpired. The
nature lover is eager for new fields to
conquer.

In the solitude of his home he is
not alone for he has the satisfaction
of contemplating what he has seen,
re-classifying his knowledge, drawing
conclusions and making new plans for
further excursions. He is not only a
lover but an expositor perhaps of na
ture, a geologist, a botanist or a scien-
tist. He has learned to see clearly with
his own eyes, to reason with his own
head.

The particular boy I have in mind
is more than an average student, for
he looks carefully at things, weighs
their importance, measures cause and
effect, and usually draws proper con-
clusions. This boy is an ornament to
any community, a promoter of the
beautiful of science and he deserves
encouragement. He is the boy that
is worth while.

The boy who loves out-of-doors can
no more be kept from going into the
woods than you can keep a duck out
of water.

The boy I have in mind is tuneful
in the upper notes of his make-up ana
his life shines because he can't help
it. He has more than a dash of enthusi-
asm in his make-up, hence it is much
harder for him to sit still than to
climb trees, for he simply can't be idle.
There is no remedy except actual out-
of-door life. He wants to see things
that move and have a being and they
alone satisfy his enterprising nature.

He hopefully starts at dawn of day
and walks and looks and listens until
the fading sun in the west comes all
too soon and the shining stars alone
will light his way home, his heart filled
with joy, "peace and good will toward
men."

A thrill of spring in the atmosphere
calls this boy to the woods. He cheer-
fully faces bleak winds and low tem-
perature. He gallops through the woods
with a new inspiration the first spring
morning he is allowed the freedom of
the fields. He is dissatisfied with books
and abstract knowledge — he wants it

first-hand, uncontaminated. The woods
are to him an irresistible attraction.
They are his college — his without haz-
ing, no shirking of lessons, no dissipa-
tion. He is willing to forego the song
of the nesting birds for the zest of
watching the slinking fox and listening
to the cooing doves. In the autumn
the woods everywhere are eloquent
with color and in his rambles the snap
of a twig arrests his attention as would
the crack of a gun. When he starts
out on his tramp with a tired mind,
how quickly his nature responds to the
speech of the woods. They influence
him as gently as the shadows of the
summer clouds on the hillside farm.
The grinding load of business cares
which brought the careworn expres-
sion of face is quickly lightened by
smiles of nature. The real out-of-door
life can be compared with nothing but
itself.

A JAPANESE SPANIEL.
YO SAN.
Her little life came into mine

As larger things absorb the small;
And through the mists and maze of time
She well holds me her all in all.

She nestles close to me at night,
And plays about my feet by day;

While in her large eyes' wonder-light
I read what her sweet soul would say.

Her mother-instinct nightly shows
In kisses on my hand and arm;

And on my sleep her spirit throws
A mantle guarding me from harm.

She brings her little treasure troves
For me to hide and watch and keep.

Her spicy breath, as sweet as cloves,
Falls on my senses, soft as sleep.

I know the world holds her to be
A little dog and nothing more;

And yet my heart holds her to me
As oceans hold their lips to shore.

I see her soul in wonder strive

To make my larger soul more wise

With love where primal virtues thrive
And shine in light from her brown eyes'.

I cannot bear the thought that we
By time and space shall suffer loss,

Or severance of this mystery
Of golden love without its dross.

I cannot think that we could part

This pleasant comradship and peace
And perfect trust of heart to heart,
Or what our union e'er could cease.

THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE. 337

<?'

^ The La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers League 5

By George Klingle, Summit, New Jersey

Ex
Thereto
League

xplanation;— The aims of this League are in many respects the same as those of The Agassiz Association
»re it has been proposed that the adult interests be represented by "The Guide to Naiure"and that the
co-operate, or possibly b« affiliated, with The Agassiz Association. — E. F. B.

The wild flower known by the great-
est number is the yellow adder's

tongue.

Those identifying the largest num-
ber of wild flowers : Frederick Ford,
Emery Brown, Ellen Smith.

Names of members identifying the
largest number of birds: Annie Moli-
tor, Charles Parse, Robert Pollard.

In reports from L. H. Nature League
Chapters, concerning the most birds
and wild flowers identified, the Chat-
ham, New Jersey, Public School Chap-
ter leads.

Establishment of a Bird Refuge.

It gives me pleasure to state that a
result in behalf of bird protection cov-
eted by members of the L. H. Nature
League, has been attained, and the
deeds, giving possession of an island
on the coast of New Jersey, hereafter
to be known as The L. H. Nature
League Bird Refuge, are in the hands
of the General Secretary.

The movement, under this name, for
nature-protection, was but just organ-
ized, in 1906, when Mr. Wm. Dutcher,
President of the National Audubon So-
ciety, who is ever alive to the require-
ments of our little feathered friends,
directed attention to the fact that New
Jersey stood among those states de-
linquent in the matter of providing a
coast-bird refuge, and that unless ac-
tion were soon taken to secure breed-
ing grounds the gulls would eventually
be exterminated from the borders of
the state.

Later on Mr. Dutcher kindly con-
sented to negotiate for the purchase
in the name of the L. H. Nature Lovers
League, the island near Stone Harbor,
off the coast of Cape May County,

which has been the nesting-place of
gulls, and other birds for centuries.

The demand, by the thoughtless
among American women, for the plum-
age of gulls, inaugurated a slaughter
on the island, some years ago, through
which thousands of the birds perished,
and had not the National Audubon So-
ciety gone to the rescue, and under-
taken a competent warden-service, the
wings of the gulls had ceased to sweep
across New Jersey waters.

The L. H. Nature League now takes
up the matter of appropriation for
warden-service, and is pleased in being
able to state that the birds are again
increasing in numbers, about fifteen
hundred now occupying the island.

If it be asked what is the especial
utility in the preservation of this form
of bird life, we would hasten to re-
mind the questioner that the gulls are
the protectors of humanity in two
ways. They are the scavengers of the
coast through whose agency the waste
matter of cities is largely disposed of
and diseased conditions prevented. To
the presence of gulls many a seaman
owes his life. The wings of the gulls
sweep through fogs and storms, when
lights, and other warnings, fail amidst
the obscurity and roar of the tempest,
to give notice of approach to land. For
the fisherman, the gulls do friendly
service, for when the gulls stoop to
the waters, there, are congregate the
schools of fishes.

The gull is one of nature's endow-
ments which man needs to cherish as
a friend whose wings sweep on for
utility, as well as for service in the
realm of poetic nature.

The only two breeding grounds of
the laughing gull, on the coast of New
Jersey, are located at Stone Harbor,
the L. H. Nature League Bird Re-
fuge, and at Little Egg Harbor. Our

338

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

LAUGHING GULLS FLYING OVER THE WATERS AT THE LARUE HOLMES NATURE LEAGUE
BIRD REFUGE, OFF THE COAST OF CAPE MAY COUNTY, NEAR STONE HARBOR,

NEW JERSEY.
Photographed by Mr. B. S. Bovvdish.

winter visitant, the herring gull, breeds
on the coast of Maine and further
north. This species also have breed-
ing grounds at Lake Champlain and
in the Adirondack's.

Though our proteges of the summer
migrate to warmer shores about the
fifteenth of September, the island is not
deserted, for it is then that the gulls
from the arctic climes, come to winter
with us, but are away again as April
approaches, and the migrants from
the south return to start nest-build-
ing in May.

The island recently acquired, em-
braces a level area of about one hun-
dred and fifty acres, where sedges and
the company of bog-grasses hold sway,
affording just the conditions for suc-
cessful homes for these birds of the
sea, and yet there are sometimes
periods in mid-June, when tides run
high, when nests located close upon
the waters, though built up of stubble
and grass raised from sixteen to eigh-
teen inches above the ground, are swept
off by the tide.

When such a calamity befalls the

GULL ON NEST AT THE LARUE HOLMES NATURE LEAGUE BIRD REFUGE. ALSO NEST

AND EGGS OF THE LAUGHING GULL RAISED EIGHTEEN OR TWENTY INCHES

ABOVE THE GROUND FOR SAFETY AT PERIODS OF VERY HIGH TIDES.

Photographed by Mr. B. S. Bowdish.

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

339

gulls they at once undertake home-
building" anew, though we will find
only one or occasionally two greenish-
gray eggs, with their brown splotches,
in the new nests, rather than the usual
compliment of two or three.

The two sexes share the labor of
nest-building and incubating, the one
occupying the nest at night, the other
by day.

This nest-strown expanse of many
acres, with its brooding wings which
have grown a bit tame, through pro-
tection, in the last two or three years,
is a sight worth seeing, by the bird-
lover, especially if he happens to look
upon it as evening deepens, and he sees
the little flocks, of from three to twenty,
wing out across the waters to spend
the night cradled upon the sea.

Pupils in school-chapters, whose an-
nual League dues have formed a ma-
terial part of the fund for the pur-
chase of the island, where not only
gulls but meadow larks, ground spar-
rows, and other birds are now in pos-
session of a home of their own, will

take pleasure in feeling a certain
amount of ownership in the poetic
wings sweeping joyously through the
air, which had it not been for a pro-
tecting hand, might today have stood
still and lifeless, as mistaken adorn-
ments for the persons of the vain and
thoughtless.

"In August the grass is still verdant
on the hills and in the valleys ; the
foliage of the trees is as dense as ever
and as green ; the flowers gleam forth
in richer abundance along the margin
of the river and by the stone walls and
deep among the woods ; the days too,
are as fervid now as they were a month
ago ; and yet in every breath of wind
and in every beam of sunshine we hear
the whispered farewell and behold the
parting smile of a dear friend. Not a
breeze can stir but it thrills us with
the breath of autumn. — "B."

In the letter from Alfred Kinsey, in
the November number, "God and na-
ture" should have read "God through
nature." — Ed.

1 11 IT II II II II II II IL II TT II I II II i | | |

IlTERARY

BIOGRAPHICAL

The British Journal Photographic Almanac
and Photographer's Daily Companion

1910. Edited by George E. Brown, F. I.
C. New York: George Murphy Inc., Pa.
per 50c; postage 27c. Cloth $1.00; pos-
tage 37c.

This is a huge volume of 1320 pages, and
contains a vast amount of material of in-
terest to the photographer. The formulae
and descriptions of new apparatus are espec-
ially helpful.

The Fly-Aways and Other Seed Travelers.

By Francis M. Fultz, A. M., Superinten-
dent of City Schools, Santa Barbara,
California. With illustrations from pho-
tographs by the author. Bloomington,
Illinois: Public-School Publishing Com-
pany.

This is a book to be read by children. It
has the attractiveness of the most interest-
ing stories and the charm of the familiar

out-of-doors. Yet it directs observations
and suggests classification in a way helpful
to scientific thought. It seems to us an ideal
nature reader for children in about the third
year of school, and for the youngest readers
of library books.

Flying Plover, by G. E. Theodore Roberts;
125 pages; illustrated; Boston; L. C.
Page & Co., $1.00

Flying Plover, and People of the Plains,
both deal with our Indians. In Flying
Plover, Theodore Roberts has written down
some of the stories which "Squat-by-the-
flre," little Flying Plover's grandmother,
told him in the long winter evenings. They
were legends of his tribe, which lives far
north in Labrador. "How Fire came to the
Mountaineers," "Why Old King Walrus
went away from the Mo'-tainous Coun-
try;" "The Adventures of King Bear," — to
these and many others the little Indian lad
listened breathlessly.

34-0

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

"You cannot sit by the old woman's fire,
and smell the herbs she was always steep-
ing, and play with the figures which she
carved so cleverly, as Flying Plover could,"
says the author, "yet I hope you will like
her stories, for all that." And we think you
will and that you will also like the beauti-
ful drawings by Charles Livingstone Bull.

The Marvelous Year. Quarto, decorated
boards', $1.25 net. Introduction by Ed-
win Markham; Essays, anonymous; Por-
traits from paintings by Gertrude Hueb-
sch. Published by B.W. Huebsch, New
York.

This volume supplies the most effective
memorial to the year in which the cente-
naries of so many remarkable men are cele-
brated that could be devised. What a year
it has been! Literature has paid tribute to
Poe, Tennyson, Johnson, fiolmes, Fitzger-
ald, Gogol ; Music to Haydn, Chopin, Mendels-
shon; Science to Darwin; the stage to Fan-
ny Kemble; Statesmanship to Lincoln and
Gladstone, and Theology to Calvin.

There is a fine spiritual quality about
Mr. Markham's Introduction, in which he
considers the great captains of humanity
and interprets the leader's place in the
progress of man. The poet speaks. The
voice that once thrilled the world with a
single song still rings loud and clear.

The reader's keenest interest, however,
centers on the anonymous writer of the
biographical essays. Four pages are de-
voted to each subject, four pages of con-
cise, telling English that may serve as a
model of style. The author has made no
attempt to write "Lives," but has told what
each life meant to Art, Literature, Science,
Music, or the particular field in which his
hero happend to be placed.

Life-Histories of Northern Animals. An ac-
count of the Mammals of Manitoba. By
Ernest Thompson Seton. Naturalist to
the Government of Manitoba. Volume
1. Grass-Eaters. Volume 11. Flesh-
Eaters. With 68 maps and 560 drawings
by the author. New York City: Charles
Scribner's Sons.

Here is a book that was needed, and the
supply has been laboriously, enthusiastical-
ly, magnificently, indeed one might almost
say over-whelmingly provided.

On birds', on plants, on insects, on trees,
we have had publications follow in rapid
succession — some of them magnificent works
— but on four-footed animals there has pre-
viously been but little other than popular
handbooks and stories.

Mr. Seton's popular stories are well
know to everybody. These sumptuous books
of details and careful investigation show
that the author not only can write popular
stories, anecdotes and personalities, but
can also write popular natural history on a
strictly scientific basis.

It is the first time that a natural history
has been offered to the public with a com-
plete and careful map of distribution for
each species. How much work has been put
into these maps will be realized when it is
stated they were begun in 1897, and worked
on almost continuously until the date of
publication. For example, the Elk map No.
4, required the looking up and copying out
of passages in some 500 ancient books to
give the primitive outline alone. To look
up these books required visits to the Lenox
and Astor Libraries, to the American Mu-
seum, New York, to the Congressional Li-
brary, to the British Museum, to the Zoo-
logical Library of London, as well as the
acquisition of some 50 volumes for the
author's own library, and all of this labor
appears in the simple black outline which
forms one element only of the map. The
shaded portions which indicate the present
range of the species called for only a little
less labor.

It is interesting and important to notice
that this book, though in many respects
revolutionary and disposing effectually of
some established notions, has nowhere in
its covers any severely critical word of any
other man or his ideas. Contrary theories
are merely announced, then face to face is
set an overwhelming body of facts.

These 60 chapters are 60 elaborate mono-
graphs. Each gives an exhaustive account
of the life of the creature in question. We
have several times been favored with mono-
graphic accounts of interesting animals; for
example, H. W. Elliott's "Fur Seal," but
never before two whole volumes with 60
monographs each of which actually gives
all that has been put on reliable record
concerning the lives of the species treated.

The methodic plan of approach as set
forth in the introduction, pages 22-34, is
bound to be the model for all future natural
histories. Why the plan was' not adopted
long ago strikes us now as a mystery. We
would recommend every student of wild life
to familiarize himself with this "general
plan" and try to fill it out for each of the
species he is studying. No matter whether
it be mammal, bird, reptile or insect, the
schedule will be found applicable and help-
ful.

While the maps date from some twelve
years back, the illustrations are yet more
historical. The earliest that we have no-
ticed are dated 1880, (p. 700) and the years
from then to now are represented in this
life-long work. Those who know Mr. Seton
will understand that over 500 of his most
important drawings were tied up with
copyrights and other control, so that he
could not embody them in this book.

It is not too much to say that in future
all work on the life-histories on our north-
ern animals must take Seton's work as its'
point of beginning and model of method.

It is not easy to select any one example

LITERARY A XI) BIOGRAPHICAL.

34i

pen "c3

>TE

< c
w S

h-l O

fc"S

a ■-

& o

s £
o JJ

fe a

for special mention. In our opinion the
Wapiti article, the Buffalo article, the Mule-
deer, Redsquirrel, the Beaver, the Pocket-
gopher, the Blackbear, the Snowshoe-rabbit,

are as exhaustive as they are interesting
and satisfactory, besides having the charm
of complete illustration and polished liter-
ary presentation. The Grey wolf is evidently

3 + 2

THE GUIDE TO NATURE.

a favorite with the author, and we are safe
to say that no man — living or dead — has
ever before succeeded in penetrating so far
into the home life of this interesting animal.
A depressing note is sounded when we are
shown that most animals are more or less
diseased, but the keynote of the whole book
is one of intense loving enthusiasm. It can-

not fail to give a scientific and lasting basis
to the interest which Seton aroused long
ago through his wild animal stories, and
we join with the numerous critics who have
endorsed Frank M. Chapman's dictum —
"Seton has done for the mammals what Au-
dubon did for the birds, but has done it bet-
ter."

RECREATION Jb VOL II FEB.-MAR., 1910 No. 11 4? EDUCATION

Hlk

«[^f*^lfriM III IxH

f E* H

3*f ' m

K- ■!■ '

wf- -€■

E^ v^ '

AN ILLU r* ATED MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR ADULTS, DEVOTED TO COMMONPLACE

NATURE WITH UNCOMMON INTEREST.

EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Managing Editor

WILLIAM J. LONG NUMBER

WILLIAM J. LONG GETTING NEAR TO NATURE
(See Page 349)

PUBLISHED BY THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION, - ARCADIA: SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT

Subscription, $1.00 Per Year. .... Single Copy, 10 Cents
Entered as second-class matter June 12, 1909, at the post office, Sound Beach, Conn., under Act of March 3, 1879

We're
Helping

nature to do its best. Spraying is
the only way to keep trees, shrubs
and plants free from insects and
disease.

We have on hand a large stock of
spraying solutions — Arsenate of
Lead, Lime, Sulphur Solution, Bor-
deaux Mixture — all ready for use,
also the necessary spray pumps to
apply them.

Ask us how to kill dandelion with-
out injury to grass — we have a
sure remedy and it is cheap.

Greenwich Hardware Co.

LAURENCE TliMMONS

Real Estate and

Insurance

FINE RESIDENTIAL AND FARM
PROPERTY FOR SALE OR RENT

INSURANCE EFFECTED IN THE BEST
COMPANIES AT LOWEST RATES

OFFICE.

37 RAILROAD AVENUE

TELEPHONE 456

GREENWICH :: :: CONN.

FROM NATURE'S FOREST 1

We select only the choicest timber in the
manufacture of our famous high grade "Kore-
lock" Veneered Doors and exquisite interior
finish. Our large warehouse is amply stocked
with

DOORS, TRIM, FRAMES, SASH, BLINDS,

MANTELS, COLUMNS, NEWELS, RAILS,

BALUSTERS, GLASS, ETC.

Ready for immediate delivery

Inquiries solicited Inspection Invited

Telephone 506

The

Greenwich Sash and Door Co.

GREENWICH, CONN.

Lumber and Coal \

Are Near to Nature

One from the forest and one from the ground,

We sell the best that can be found.

Send us your orders and we'll send around.

Also Masons' Materials, Tile Pipe. Land
Drain Tile, Fire Brick, etc., etc.

Tomkins' Cove Bluestone for Walks and Drives

JOSEPH BRUSH

Steamboat Road, GREENWICH, CONN.

Telephone 520 and 521

FINE RESIDENTIAL PREMISES FOR SALE

Do you wish to live near our Arcadia and have the benefits of it and the
seashore and near by Arcadian country? Do you want to remodel a grand old
house and put on a little paint and paper — and have the fun of doing it — of one
of the finest pieces of colonial architecture in the State of Connecticut?

The house has seventeen rooms, an old, open fireplace, handmade woodwork
and trim with original brass knobs. It's a little run down but could easily be
restored and refurnished with antique furniture and made a most attractive place.

There are four acres of land with orchard, garden, barns, chicken house,
etc. Just the kind to show "before" and "after."

Full particulars upon addressing this magazine.

■A -A -A -A -A -A -A -A -A _

" THE LAND AND THE HOMtT

A LOCAL DEPARTMENT

Real Estate and Home Supplies Along the Connecticut Shore

Stamford and Vicinity.

Stamford is not only growing now,
but the pretty little city is going to
continue to grow at a rapid rate.
Judging from the present outlook, the
real estate business during 1910 will
be unusually good, in fact far better
than it has been in several years, not
excepting the spring of 1906. The
local demand for property is especial-
ly good, and there are frequent calls
from out of town parties for acreage.
There are indications tbat there will
be many large transactions consum-
mated, and much building contracted
for.

An important real estate transac-
tion recently concluded is that of the
transfer from the East Branch Cor-
poration to the Tidewater Coal Com-
pany, of one hundred feet of dock
property. The property acquired by
the company adjoins that which it al-
ready occupies, and will enable the
coal company to extend its business.
It is understood that the transaction
involves $10,000.

Charles Swanson has erected a
house on Clark's Hill, recently. It
is a frame house, provided with all
modern conveniences, and arranged
for one family.

W. P. Mosely of Stamford, is build-
ing a handsome residence at Shippan,
from plans drawn by E. M. Stratton
of Boston. The house will be of
wood, 30 x 49 ft., three stories high
with a shingled roof. The rooms will
be finished in hard woods, with hard
wood floors, mantels and fire places,
and the house will be provided with
steam heat.

A one family house is being built
for Paul Kost, on the corner of South
and harbor streets. It will be 24 x 28

One of the many handsome resi-
dences which are being built on the out-

skirts of Stamford, is the future home
of Dr. AY. D. Tracy, on the Roxbury
Road. The house will be 40 x 27 ft. in
size, built of stone and wood, with a
shingle roof. A stable, 32 x 2j ft. will
also be built.

Work will be started in the Spring-
on a new building of wood with a
gravel roof, two stories high and
25 x 76 ft. in size, for Baer Bros., at
their plant on Canal street.

When completed the Stamford
Lodge of Elks, will have one of the
best club houses in Connecticut. The
plans are by a New York architect.
Paul Allen, a resident of Stamford,
and a member of the Stamford Lodge.

The building of the I .O. O. R. M.
has been undergoing extensive changes.
An addition has been built on the rear,
and the structure arranged for doctor's
offices, club rooms and banquet hall on
the first floor, with an assembly hall,
dance hall and lodge rooms above. It
has been fitted out with new plumbing,
and steam heating. It has been provided
.with every convenience, and finished
throughout with hard wood.

Springdale, a suburb of Stamford, is
getting to be a flourishing little ham-
let. Some twenty or thirty houses
have been erected during the past year
but the supply is not equal to the de-
mand, as there is not a house to be
found for the applicants, who are
daily demanding the small house with
modern improvements. One of the
real estate agents in this section be-
lieves that in the near future the
building in Springdale will far surpass
any other of Stamford's suburbs. This
is especially true of the West Hill sec-
tion the inducements here being the
excellent view from the high eleva-
tion, and the purity of the drinking
water. This spring there will be 150
acres of land opened for building lots.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Among those who will build in
Springdale the coming year are A. J.
Krimbill, who will erect a residence
for himself and family. Gilbert
Knapp is building a one family frame
house with conveniences. Conrad
Lund and Edward Crouch are also
building similar houses.

Glenbrook is about to have a Real
Estate boom. A handsome residence
is being built for H. E. Page. The
plans show a frame house 40 x 30 feet,
with stuccoed sides and shingle roof.
The interior will be finished in hard
woods, with hardwood floors, mantels
and fireplaces. It will be furnace
heated.

A syndicate of well known Stamford
business men, as well as men who
have long dealt in real estate, have re-
cently purchased a tract of land, com-
posed of about sixty acres in Glen-
brook, extending from Cortlandt ave.,
eastward and bordering on the Noro-
ton River. These men are Robert
Anthony, Everett Raymond, Garry
Raymond, Arthur Raymond, E. P.
Jordan, E. M. Ayres, and H. M. Ayres.

Work on the tract will commence in
the early spring. The property has
been cut up into several streets — Ter-
race Drive, Midland Ave., Tremont
Ave., and Fairmont Ave., and two hun-
dred building lots have been laid out.

The owners of this beautiful prop-
erty intend to build several pretty
bungalows, which will make ideal
summer residences. The surroundings
and the locality are all which can be
desired.

The streets which are to be laid out
will be wide and durable. The side
walks will be of concrete and electric
lights will be erected and the eight
houses proposed, will be fully equipped
with modern conveniences.

The property is within a few
moments walk of the N. Y. N. H.,
Railroad Station also of the Stamford
and Norwalk trolley lines.

STAMFORD DIRECTORY

THE HARRIS CONSTRUCTION CO.
GENERAL CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS

REAL ESTATE for home or investment. Country
Farms and Shore Property for sale. Mortgage
Loans negotiated.

Offices : 370 Atlantic St.

Stamford, Conn.

SAMUEL G. JUDD

HOUSE FURNISHINGS

FRENCH CHINA, CUT GLASS,

ROGERS BROS. SILVERWARE, Etc.

Phone 152-3 Atlantic Square Stamford Ct.

Telephones

J 34G-

I 346-3

The C. A. Williams Company

elbotrioal engineering and
construction work

Atlantic and Main Sts., Stamford, Conn.

Main Officei Room 3, Quintard Block

F. B. HENDRIE

A. B. LOVATT

HENDRIE & LOVATT

Haberdashers

214 Atlantic St.,

Stamford, Conn.

A. L. EMBREE, :: DRUGGIST

Use Velvet Cold Cream
It is the Best

18 PARK ROW STAMFORD, CONN.

EVERYTHING FOR LADIES' WEAR

CALL ON

Moltasch, Ladies' Outfitter

210 ATLANTIC ST., STAMFORD, CONN.

FOR FINE MILLINERY
NEWSTAD'S

200 ATLANTIC STREET, STAMFORD, CONN.

'TIS A FACT—

Get a Business Education at Merrill College

AND THE SALARY IS SURE TO COME

Day and Nisrht Sessions Books and Stationery Free

18 8 8— M ERRIL L— 1 9 1 O

SOUTH NORWALK STAMFORD PORT CHESTER

ADVERTISEMENT.

ill

Revonah Manor Park.

This spring work will recommence
on Revonah Manor Park, and new
streets will be opened. This property
was purchased over a year ago by
H. Henneberger, and Henry M. Jevne,
from the heirs of the estate of the late
Alfred Hoyt, one of Stamford's oldest
residents. The estate comprises one
hundred and eighty-nine acres running
from Fifth St., north to Simsbury, then
northeast and east, opening out on
Strawberry Hill Avenue. The present
owners have opened up twenty five
acres of this fine property into build-
ing lots. They have already built three
streets, which are macadamized, and
bordered by cement walks. Sewer,
water, and gas pipes have been laid.
The plots are sold only in two or more
lots, thus affording enough ground for
a broad lawn and practical garden.

The three streets which have been
laid out, are Chester St., and Urban St.,
running parallel with each other, east
to west, and Revonah Avenue, which
runs north, and will eventually open on
Strawberry Hill.

The old homestead on the hilltop,

A Small House

Big enough for a couple of canaries
wouldn't do for 3rou and your wife.
We have houses: All sizes; all prices;
all locations.

Take a spin in our "gasolene buggy"
and see them.

VIRGIL N. JONES

(Advocate Building) STAMFORD, CONN.

ALFRED ITOVT HOMESTEAD AT REVONAH MANOR.

Is one hundred and fifty years old and has housed three generations of Iloyts.
Photographed by Julie Adams Powell.

nestling as it does, in a cosy nook,
sheltered by the tall pines on its north
west, is a typical New England farm
house of one hundred and fifty years
ago, at which time it was built by the
paternal grandfather of the late Alfred
Hoyt. It has been the home of three

Expert Clock Repairing

My experience in this line enables me to give satis-
faction where others fail French. Traveling and
English Chime Clocks a Specialty.

G. L. WOODRUFF

(Formerly with Tiffany & Co.)
50 Atlantic Street : Stamford, Conn.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

generations, and the foundation is of
the old time building", and is as firm
as a rock.

When the owner was asked by the
writer, if the old house was going to
be torn down, he answered, "No in-
deed, the house is too good to tear
lown."

Several acres of this estate is valu-
able woodland, and aside from this,
"Alfred Hoyt's woods," have been the
delight of the school children of a gen-
eration, as here were to be found the
darkest blue violets, the modest hiding
hepatica, the spicy winter green ber-
ries, the appetizing water cress and
along by the old stone fences, the soft
and ever popular pussy-willows, have
never ceased to show themselves in
the early spring time. And here the
small boy always hied himself, early
in the morning after a frosty night, to
be the first to bring home a bag of big
brown chestnuts.

There are many men living in Stam-
ford to day, who have pleasant boy-
hood recollections of this farm, which
is now being turned into one of the
most delightful of residential sections.
And they cannot fail to be glad to see
that the old place has beautiful sur-
roundings and is restricted against
everything detrimental to home and
community life.

DR. GIVENS'
SANITARIUM

FOR NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASES

AT STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT

is arranged on the cottage plan and has sepa~
rate departments; separate cottages, for the
treatment of a limited number of drug and
alcoholic patients.

Eighteen years' experience in this beautiful'
healthful location within one hour of New
York City, and with an excellent record of
cures, makes the place a desirable one for
those requiring special treatment.

ADDRESS

Dr. A. J. Givens

Stamford, Connecticut

Capital. $200,000 Surplus Profits. $230,512

THE STAMFORD TRUST CO.

Of Stamford, Conn.

Facilities Offered to Depositors

DEPOSITS — We accept deposits subject to
check. We issue Certificates of Deposit pay-
able on demand, at the expiration of a speci-
fied time.

SAFETY— The Statutes of the State of Con-
necticut have for some years required the
Trust Companies to keep a reserve equal to
that required by the Federal Government of
National Banks.

The Connecticut Legislature by an act passed in
its session of 1907 required Trust Companies to in-
vest deposits under the act regulating the invest-
ment of such funds by Savings Banks, and allowed
five years for such conversion of investments as
might be necessary.

This Company through its past conservatism
was enabled immediately to conform to the pro-
visions of the act and its deposits are now as secure-
ly safeguarded as those of any Savings Bank.

Especial attention given to Household and
Private Accounts of Women.

BLICKENSDERFER
TYPEWRITERS

NEW MODEL No. 8

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It will be to your advantage to investigate before pur-
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Send for Catalogue 112

THE BLICKENSDERFER MFG.

STAMFORD, CONN.

CO.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Tokeneke Park.
Tokeneke Park, lying as it does be-
tween Darien and Rowayton, on the

Connecticut shore of Long- Island
Sound, is thoroughly a typical resi-
dential park. It is in close touch with
the railroad, and it has all of the ad-
vantages for those who enjoy an out-
door life. There are miles of drive-
ways, well built and artistically laid
out. It has a public garage, a casino
that reaches every requirement, and
its tennis courts are the best to be
had.

There are about thirty houses and

TOMPKINS' STONE

is used to beautify Walks and Drives.
Especially Summer Places.

WE CARRY IN STOCK THIS STONE

We also deal in

Coal, Wood and Drain Pipe

CHAS. F. WATERBURY

DAVIO WATERBURY & SON

Phone 270 Canal Dock Stamford

Up-town Office: STARK BROS.,
40 Park Row.

TOKENEKE BEACH INN.

For the accommodation of transient friends of the
residents in the Park.

bungalows in the park, all of which
are well equipped with electric lighting",
telephones, steam heating apparatus,
sanitary plumbing, and every modern
convenience.

Tokeneke is named from the Indian
chieftain, who, several hundreds of

"HEARTS-EASE" THE HOME OF JOSEPH
SAWYER, JR.

An attractive house built in stone and half
timber work.

years ago, owned this large tract of
land, where he hunted and fished, and
enjoyed a life of freedom.

The land is undulating, and the bold-
ness of its shore front, is most at-
tractive to the artistic eye. The mas-
sive bold rocks, and heavily wooded

WM. B.

BECKLEY, Prest. WM.

N KEOGH,

Mgr

THE

STAMFORD LUMBER CO-

LUMBER

Sas

H, DOO

rs, Blinds and Window-
wholesale AND RETAIL

OFFICE AND YARD, 297 PACIFIC STREET

■Fram

STAMFORD, CONN.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

"SHOREWOOD"— THE SUMMER HOME OF

E. HOPE NORTON.
The large living rooms on the first floor are admir-
ably planned.

land, project into the waters of the
Sound, and when the wind is rising
for a storm, the water lashes the
rocks, and the foam sends its crest to
their tops.

Many of the most attractive homes
in the park were originally farm houses,
which have been remodeled by their
present owners. Among the most
charming of these are "Shing-wak,"
the residence of Mr. Thomas Alsop.
This old farm house was built in 1771,
and was remodeled in 1906. Very little
change was made to the outside of
the house and the interior has only
been made more convenient, and fur-
nished with full sanitary equipments.
The owner's idea was to leave the style
and plan of house as nearly Colonial
as possible.

"Wayside" is another of the renova-

THE WELL APPOINTED CASINO FROM THE

UPPER BALCONIES OF WHICH THERE IS

AN EXTENSIVE VIEW OF LONG

ISLAND SOUND.

This is one of the most popular social organizations

on the Connecticut Shore.

ted farm houses, and it is the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Gerrit Smith, who are
so well known in musical circles. This
house was built in 1749. The Colonial
scheme of furnishing and decoration
is carried out in this house in the
most ideal and comfortable manner. In
the summer time the old-fashioned

D. MAHER & SONS

LEHIGH COAL, HYGEIA ICE

BUILDING rlATERIAL

LIME, LATH, BRICK

SAND, CE/1ENT, AND

DRAIN PIPE

Tel. 933-2

Sound Beach, Conn.

A HOME NEAR TO NATURE

Should Especially be Picturesque, Beautiful and in Good Taste

We manufacture everything in the mill line for house building. Fine interior work a specialty,
We give you the best workmanship at right prices.

Our own representatives take measurements at the building, and give the work personal attention.
We also carry in stock a large line of Window Frames, Sash, Blinds, Doors, Trim and
Mouldings.

No house too small for us to figure on.

Call at our office or make appointment and our representative will call upon you.

ST. JOHN WOOD WORKING CO.

Telephone 781
STAMFORD, CONN.

"Upon properly appointed and becoming dwellings, depends more than anything else the improvement of man-
kind.' ' — Disraeli.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

Vll

flower garden, in front of the house
lends an added charm, such as nothing
else could do.

Tokeneke Inn is pleasantly situated
on a knoll in a small grove of trees,
overlooking a hroad sweep of well-
kept land, with a good view of the
Sound in the distance. The guests who
sojourn here during the summer months
find much to amuse them. The tennis
courts are of the best. The bathing
facilities the finest. The bathing beach
is safe, and sandy, and free from all
sewage. The bath houses are pleas-
antly situated and commodious. Run-
ning along on the east side of Toke-
neke is Five Mile River, where there
is a deep harbor anchorage.

The automobile roads are built to
stand the wear and tear of the ma-
chines which pound over them daily.
There are delightful driveways across
rustic bridges, and romantic walks
through wild woodland.

For the accommodation of commu-
ters, many of the express trains stop
at Darien station which is not over
a ten-minute drive from Tokeneke
Park, and the Norwalk trolley which
passes one of its gates, will carry one
to the beautiful Wee Burn Golf links,
in fifteen minutes time.

In Tokeneke Park we find the hand-
some home of Edward Hope Norton,
a New York banker. This is "Shore-
wood," and it is happily situated on

one of the highest knolls, and com-
mands a fine view of the Sound.

On the main driveway, is "Cedar
Cliff," a Dutch Colonial house of at-
tractive appearance. "Heartsease," the
summer home of Mr. Joseph Sawyer,
Jr., nestles cosily in a cluster of tall
chestnuts, close to the water's edge.

Situated so boldly on the shore of
Long Island Sound, and its grounds
laid out so artistically by the Tokeneke
Land Company, a visitor to the Park
cannot fail to see that its future will
be a colony of handsome homesteads
for the retired banker, broker or mer-
chant, and one of the finest residential
parks that we have in this part of
the country.

Julie Adams Powell.

COUNTRY PROPERTY

Farms, Country Seats, Water Fronts, Mountain
Land, Oyster Grounds, Game Preserves, Timber
Land, Lakes, Hotels, Mineral Springs, Villages,
Homes, etc., etc.

ARCHIBALD C. FOSS

30IEAST 42ND STREET, NEW YORK
Branches: Port Chester. N. Y., So. Norwalk. Ct.. Millerton. N. Y.

R. F. Voska

A. D. Otto

VOSKA & OTTO
MERCHANT TAILORS

Cleaning, Pressing and Repairing Done Promptly.
Work called for and delivered.

487 Main St., Stamford, Conn.

Phone 418 Allen Asten Block, Greenwich, Ct.

Phone 98 w-Greenwich.

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"SHING-WAK"— THE RESIDENCE OF
THOMAS ALSOP.
Was built in 1771 and remodeled in 1906. The
old brick fireplace and Dutch oven are inter-
esting features of the living room.

'CEDAR CLIFF," A DUTCH COLONIAL

HOUSE.
It has a very attractive setting with a group

of cedars.

Vlll

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